A Silver Doubloon
by Ildera
Summary: Jack Sparrow just can't seem to stay out of trouble, can he? And this time, an old friend needs him to sort out troubles not of his own making . . . COMPLETE
1. Drink Up, Me Hearties, Yo Ho!

Okay, having read the quality of fics on this film, I am not sure if this one is quite good enough, but here goes! It's my first try to do a PotC fic, so be gentle, but any constructive criticism would be very much appreciated! Especially as far as my characterisation goes!  
  
In case you don't know, none of this belongs to me, except certain characters such as Marin, Elias and Danielson. The rest all belongs to Walt Disney . . . I mean, come on, if Jack - sorry - Captain Jack Sparrow belonged to me, would I really share him with you guys?  
  
This does verge on the Mary Sue, so don't say you haven't been warned, and the rating is just to be safe, okay? Ready?  
  
Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin . . .  
  
*~*~*  
  
A Silver Doubloon  
  
*~*~*  
  
Lovely as Port Royale was, it was not the place for a pirate. Especially one who made a habit of almost getting himself hanged every time he visited. The drums echoed through the town, announcing to one and all that the British Navy were once again trying to end the life and misadventures of Captain Jack Sparrow.  
  
As usual, the crowd had gathered, not to see him die, but to witness firsthand how he would escape this time. A richly dressed young woman smiled seductively at the bound captain where he stood on the gallows, obviously hoping for some sign that he had seen her. The drums stopped and the charges were read.  
  
Jack raised his eyes to the heavens, his mind racing. He had no idea where his crew were, since he had sent them off to enjoy themselves and they hadn't returned. Will Turner was off on the high seas with his lady, enjoying the life that had called to him since he was a child. He'd surreptitiously checked the gallows for imperfections and found none. For the first time in a long history of executions, Captain Jack Sparrow was stuck where he was, waiting for fate to intervene.  
  
He held Commodore Norrington's gaze as the naval commander stared impassively at his prisoner, obviously waiting for him to sail away into the sunrise as he had done so many times before. Beside him, Governor Swann seemed less than happy with this repeat of a failed execution, and Jack found himself clinging to the hope that the governor might decide this was pointless and set him free.  
  
The noose was placed around his neck, tight but not so as to strangle him. As with all pirates, the people wanted to see a short drop and a sudden stop, not a convulsing, twitching, elongated death. Jack found himself looking into the face of death itself, and determined not to let it win.  
  
As the drums began again, he drew in a deep breath, preparing himself for what could be his final few minutes. The drumming slowed to the rhythmic beat that announced his impending demise. With one deft movement, the executioner pulled the lever that would open the floor beneath the pirate's feet.  
  
There was a gasp from the crowd. The trapdoor had not opened. Jack could see the confusion on every military face, and the open amusement on the governor's. The boards felt solid beneath his feet, even to the point where he felt safe enough to dance a little jig.  
  
'It would appear that today is not my day to die, Commodore,' he called across the rising tide of laughter that rose from the crowd.  
  
Norrington inclined his head stiffly, refusing to rise to the bait. He motioned to the marines beside him.  
  
'Return Mr Sparrow to the cells,' he ordered. 'And someone get that gallows fixed.'  
  
The noose was removed and Jack found himself manhandled down the steps and through the crowd. As they approached the steps where the commodore stood, he called out,  
  
'Am I to understand my departure from this world has been cancelled, mate?'  
  
The commodore's gaze was cold, though as usual Jack could see the amusement behind his eyes at yet another failed attempt to get rid of him.  
  
'Postponed, Mr Sparrow, merely postponed,' he informed the pirate.  
  
Jack rolled his eyes impatiently.  
  
'Captain, it's Captain,' he muttered as the marines marched him back to the cells. And from the shadows, a small figure hurried away, down into the town, full of the importance of his news.  
  
*~*~*  
  
The tavern was noisy, white noise that blacked out any semblance of normal thought from a person's mind. Everywhere the eye could see, men drank, gambled and wenched to their heart's delight, enjoying the hospitality of one of Port Royale's less than savoury quarters. The tavern women scurried back and forth between tables, dodging groping hands and keeping tankards filled.  
  
There was a roar from a particularly rowdy corner, a huge voice demanding of attention.  
  
'Marin! Marin, me lovely, bring us some rum and a measure of yer fine company!'  
  
The girl in question spared him one withering glance and turned her back on his drunken calls, sharing an irritated glance with her companion. Ann glanced over at the table, wincing as a brawl broke out in the usual violent fashion.  
  
'You can't keep ignoring him forever, Mar,' she said quietly, refilling her pitcher from the barrels behind the bar. 'Sooner or later, he's going to come and get you.'  
  
Marin sighed.  
  
'I know, I know,' she said wearily. 'But I hate it when he does this.'  
  
Ann smiled gently, moving to cover her friend's hand with her own.  
  
'He just wants you to know how much he cares,' she told her. 'I know you don't believe me, but he does care for you, Marin, deeply. You're the daughter he wishes he could have had.'  
  
A faint smile touched the younger woman's face. Just for one moment, her stormy grey eyes lost their guarded look and glowed with a fondness that lit up her delicate features.  
  
'I know,' she murmured, feeling suddenly small and alone, but for the man in the corner calling for her company.  
  
Captain Elias Fitzpatrick had never been the best of men, being the proud possessor of a reputation that included rape and murder, and yet he had shown her kindness when she had most needed it. When she was a child, barely two years of age, her mother had taken her on a voyage to the Caribbean. All she remembered of the tragedy that had befallen them was guns and flying debris, and finding herself all alone in the water, clinging desperately to a cabin door that had somehow escaped the destruction. The next thing she remembered was being taken from the water by gentle hands, and a soft voice telling her not to be afraid, that she was safe now.  
  
Elias' men had seen the smoke and heard the cannon fire, and sailed straight to the site of the battle, too late to intervene on either side. The bo'sun had spied a child floating in the water, and they had lowered a boat to retrieve her. Since they had found no other survivors, the captain had taken the little girl for his own daughter. He had named her Marin, a name that meant 'from the sea', because that was where he had found her. Ever since, she had been under his protection, and despite all outward appearances, the two were very close.  
  
Marin was not the prettiest girl you could wish to see, but she was striking, a fact that made all men look her over carefully before noticing her ever-present guardian. Her pale skin and rich copper hair caught the eye, and the slender frame held it. She was a true Celt, Elias had decided, and they had journeyed to Ireland when she was a child to try and find anyone who might know her. The trip had not been successful, and to a certain extent she was glad. Marin was a pirate now, or at least, a pirate's lass, and was well able to look after herself. Why would she want to change her life now?  
  
She gave another sigh and gave in, walking through the crowds to join her protector with two bottles of rum. Elias gave her a gold-toothed grin, one that she returned with amusement as she sat beside him.  
  
'Now, me lass,' the captain declared. 'We've not had the pleasure of yer company since we docked. What is it about Port Royal that tears ye away from yer own?'  
  
Marin smiled.  
  
'The thought that if I stayed with you, I'd have to get drunk just to be able to stand your company, cap'n,' she told him, inwardly pleased with the guffaw of laughter her answer produced.  
  
'Fair enough, fair enough,' Elias chuckled, throwing back his head to swallow the contents of his goblet. 'But will ye be boarding with us when the time comes to leave? That's the real question.'  
  
He watched as she pretended to ponder the question, looking somewhat concerned, even though he already knew the answer. They played this game every time they set into port. Marin would find work for the duration of their stay while the men got as drunk as possible, and she would keep them hanging as to her intentions when they would set off. But, invariably, the sea called to her and she would rejoin her surrogate family with a light heart when the time came.  
  
'We'll have to see about that, cap'n,' Marin informed her friend. 'Depends on whether you have room for a woman on board.'  
  
'We always have room!' Elias announced indignantly, slapping the table in amusement at her words.  
  
He smiled at her, once again thanking his stars that he had chosen to fish her from the water when he could so easily have left the child to die. She was his one saving grace, he knew that, and as long as he had his Marin, the world was a brighter place.  
  
'Now, lass, how about a song? I could never grow tired of hearing me lovely's voice.'  
  
Marin rolled her eyes in comical resignation. She should have expected this. With a gentle sigh, she allowed herself to be hauled to her feet and set atop the table, waiting for the rhythmic beat provided by the crews around them.  
  
'We pillage, we plunder, we rifle and loot, Drink up, me hearties, yo ho! We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot, Drink up, me hearties, yo ho . . .'  
  
As others joined in, Elias was distracted by a small hand tugging at his coat sleeve. Turning, he noticed his cabin boy grinning up at him, looking as though he had news that could be interesting. Elias nodded once to Marin as she danced from table to table, and slipped out into the cool, but above all, quiet street.  
  
'Now, Dugan, me boy, what have ye to tell me?' he asked of the young lad.  
  
Dugan grinned despite himself, hoping he had gathered the information his captain wanted.  
  
'Cap'n, you know you said if Jack Sparrow was in town, you would want tae have words wi' him,' he began excitedly, encouraged when Elias' gaze sharpened on hearing the familiar name. 'Well, they tried tae hang him agin this morn, and it didnae work, so they've set his next execution fer sunrise.'  
  
Elias nodded slowly, waiting for the location of the infamous Jack Sparrow. Dugan echoed the nod, his young face flushed with excitement and importance.  
  
'He's bin ta'en back tae the cells fer the night, cap'n, you know, the ones beneath the fort.'  
  
'Aye, that I do, young Dugan,' Elias agreed, squeezing the boy's shoulder. 'And I suppose ye know the way in, do ye?'  
  
The grin widened.  
  
'In and oot, cap'n,' Dugan told him.  
  
A slow satisfied smile passed across Elias Fitzpatrick's face. He knew now what it was he would do with his time in Port Royale. 


	2. Why Can Nobody Remember The Captain?

Aren't I doing well? Two chapters in two days! Anyway . . .onwards!  
  
*~*~*  
  
Captain Jack Sparrow stared into space, wondering for the hundredth time how he was going to get away this time. It was only a few hours until dawn, and already he could sense his spirits fading, becoming the dark pit of despair. It was too much to hope that someone might find it in their hearts to add this escape to his reputation.  
  
The guard dozed in his chair, one eye open and on the prisoner, the prison dog at his feet. So, generally, the atmosphere in the cells was lazy and tense. All Jack could do was wait for the dawn light to filter in through his barred window.  
  
There was a noise above them, one of a door being opened, and footsteps on the steps that led down to the dismal room. Both men sat straighter, hearing the rustle of skirts that belied a female presence entering the cells.  
  
She stepped down, into the tiny space, glancing about almost indifferently at the locked cells. Her eyes paused for just one moment as they passed over Jack's wary figure, before she moved towards the guard.  
  
'Well now, my darlin',' he said in what he obviously thought was a seductive tone, 'what brings a pretty thing like you down here at so godforsaken an hour?'  
  
Jack heard her giggle, but was more interested in the intriguing shape of her skirts. They were bunched at the waist, almost as if she had something concealed beneath them. He allowed his eyes to travel over her body, searching for anything out of place. Even though the candlelight was not the brightest it could be, hiding many details of her appearance, it was enough for him to see what was obvious.  
  
Her hair was tied back in a simple loose knot, hardly the fashion among the whores at that time, and he spied the flash of a brown leather boot where a dainty slipper would have been far more appropriate. He felt a grin work its way onto his weathered face and quickly suppressed it, waiting to see what would come from this encounter.  
  
The guard reached out and curled a clumsy arm around the young woman's waist, drawing her down to sit on his lap. She did so, willingly, but Jack caught the slight grimace of disgust that crossed her face as the guard began to caress her neck and shoulders.  
  
'Who have you come to pleasure this eve, my darlin'?' he asked, trying to kiss her.  
  
There was a click, and he felt the cold barrel of a pistol pressed against his head.  
  
'Not you, that's for certain,' she said pleasantly, lifting herself off his lap and motioning him to rise.  
  
He did so, shaking slightly in fear. The girl looked him up and down witheringly, and gestured for him to retrieve the keys.  
  
'Now, you do as you're told, and I won't pull this trigger, understand?' she told him.  
  
The guard nodded hurriedly, obviously terrified by now. He had quite obviously never come up against a woman with a weapon before, Jack thought, and therefore didn't know how to cope.  
  
'Open the captain's cell and let him out,' was her first command, which was quickly obeyed.  
  
Jack slipped into freedom, and took the keys from his jailer at the same time, ushering him into the cell and locking him in, with his dog.  
  
'No shouting, mate, and you might live,' he told the shaking man, enjoying every minute of this unexpected rescue. 'My thanks, love, for your timely intervention.'  
  
Grasping his effects from the rack beside the table, he made to slip past her up the stairs, but found the gun now pressed firmly against his ribs. Infinitely surprised, he looked down into quite a pleasant smile.  
  
'Not so fast, Mr Sparrow,' she said softly, and Jack gave a quick sigh of impatience.  
  
'Why can nobody remember the Captain?' he asked no one in particular. 'It's Captain Jack Sparrow, love, and I've a mind to be free of this fort, so if you'd remove the pistol . . . ?'  
  
She didn't budge even an inch.  
  
'You wouldn't get five feet without me,' she murmured. 'There are men out there with orders to shoot if I'm not with you.'  
  
Jack's eyes widened.  
  
'What have I done now?'  
  
She gave him a sweet smile that was somehow more unnerving than the professional way she held the gun.  
  
'Nothing that I know of,' she admitted, fiddling behind her back with one hand. 'My captain wishes to have words with you, Mr Sparrow, so there's no point in trying to get away. Your own crew were encouraged to sail out of the harbour earlier this evening.'  
  
Jack heaved a huge sigh. He'd lost his ship, again. As he contemplated his options, of which there were very few, the girl drew in a deep breath and there was a whizzing sound, like that of rope moving fast through rigging. The gun never moved from his ribs as she shed the heavy dress with an audible sigh of relief.  
  
He felt the grin from earlier slide into place as he took in her far more practical appearance. Shirt, waistcoat, breeches, boots, belt, pistols, sabre . . . he had been rescued and captured by a pirate lass, no doubt about it. That explained the less than fashionable hair as well. She caught him looking, lifting his chin with the pistol.  
  
'Eyes up, Mr Sparrow, I don't tolerate men taking an eyeful.'  
  
Sufficiently warned, he followed her up the stairs and out into the cool night air. As she motioned him back into the shadows, he noticed a small gathering of bodies piled on top of one another by the wall.  
  
The girl must have felt his curiosity, and glanced back at him as she edged through the fort.  
  
'Not dead, just . . . sleeping,' she told him, her voice almost lost on the sea breeze.  
  
Together they slipped silently through the eerily empty fort, and down into the town. Jack felt, more than saw, the ever present eyes of his new companion's crew as they followed the pair down into the town towards the dock. As they passed a darkened alleyway, Jack felt his collar grasped by a rough hand and he was yanked backwards into the shadows.  
  
His eyes quickly adjusted to the new darkness, and he found himself surrounded by men who looked strangely familiar. At least now he knew he had been captured by a crew he might know, save for the girl who stood beside him.  
  
'What's up?' she asked softly, her voice barely audible.  
  
A small figure slipped forward to her side.  
  
'The navy have patrols up and doon the docks, miss,' he said in a thick Scottish accent. 'Tae frequent tae slip past wi' him, and tae well trained not tae try and yell fer help.'  
  
The girl nodded, and Jack could almost hear her thinking, trying to work out the problem.  
  
'Of course, you could just leave me here,' he heard himself say, and instantly regretted it.  
  
The pistol was back against his ribs, and this time there were several hostile stares on him as well.  
  
'You're coming with us, Mr Sparrow, whether you wish it or not,' the girl hissed. 'One more word from you and you won't be walking to the dock, do you understand?'  
  
'Far better than I could ever wish to, love,' he assured her, surprised by the violence of their reaction. 'And it's Captain Sparrow.'  
  
The man closest to him leant forward.  
  
'I'd shut up right now if I were you,' he muttered, his eyes on the young woman by their captive's side.  
  
Jack nodded, having noticed the addition of a sabre to the pistol in his ribs. There was a hastily whispered conversation that he could hear nothing of, and most of the dark shapes slipped away into the shadows, leaving Jack alone with the young woman, and the boy.  
  
There was a loud commotion down by the docks and they saw the dark shapes run past them, up towards the fort, making as much noise as possible. They were quickly followed by a large number of marines, feverishly fixing bayonets as they ran uphill. As they passed, Jack stepped backward in the gloom, fully intending to run, and fell over a barrel, lying against the wall behind him. He let out a hoarse cry, and grabbed for the girl as she turned to see him land unceremoniously on his arse.  
  
'What the hell do you think you're doing?' she hissed, leaning down to pull him to his feet.  
  
There was a noise from the alley mouth, and they both turned to see a pair of marines peering into the gloom, a lantern held aloft between them.  
  
'Damn,' he heard her swear. 'Nowhere to run.'  
  
Jack smiled, an idea popping into his head that he was certain he'd pay for later.  
  
'Then relax, love,' he murmured into her ear. 'If you struggle, they'll definitely come and take a closer look.'  
  
Without any warning, he bent and kissed her, pushing her firmly against the wall and capturing her hands as she raised them to fight him off. His lips were bruising as he held her still, acutely aware that the marines were moving closer, wanting to check that there was no trouble. Finally, she seemed to notice and relaxed somewhat, allowing him to pull her close and make the kiss seem a little more natural. Just at that moment, the light from the lantern fell on them, and they heard the marines chuckle and move away.  
  
With a show of strength he would never have believed a woman could have, had he not spent the last few years in Ana Maria's company, Jack was shoved bodily away from his young captor, slamming into the stone wall with a thud. A dagger whistled from its sheath and pricked his nose.  
  
'Don't you ever do that to me again,' he was warned.  
  
She stalked away, to the mouth of the alley, leaving Jack to exchange a look with the grinning boy.  
  
'Ah, you've hit a chord there, Master Sparrow,' the boy told him. 'Not one fer mushy stuff, is our lady.'  
  
Jack returned the grin, shrugging non-commitally.  
  
'Shame.'  
  
The darkened figures slipped past again, and he found himself pushed forward, obediently breaking into a run beside the girl he had so rudely accosted only moments before. They skidded along the jetty to the boats that lay waiting, and were quickly aboard and rowing out to their ship, the marines none the wiser.  
  
The ship itself looked asleep, with no movement on board to betray its readiness for the off. As the longboats came alongside, Jack glanced up, and saw a figurehead that was very familiar. A red dragon gleamed in the moonlight. He nodded to himself, letting the crew manhandle him aboard and throw him into a corner while they went about their duties.  
  
A voice he remembered very clearly said,  
  
'Take him below, mates, there's work to be done before we can explain ourselves.'  
  
Jack was hoisted to his feet and pushed down into the bowels of the ship. He landed on his knees at the foot of the stairs, and was greeted with a gasp of surprise.  
  
'My goodness! Jack, are you alright?'  
  
His eyes widened further as this voice registered as one he knew also. Looking up, he was greeted with a surprising sight.  
  
'Elizabeth?'  
  
*~*~*  
  
And there's chapter two! Like it? Hate it? Let me know! *gestures hopefully towards little purple button*  
  
And I do author's notes! See, you get a complete package! (  
  
Froline el-Vasper - my first reviewer! Thank you! As far as the shanty went, I wanted to tie it in with the film, but if there are any other shanty scenes, you may rest assured I will use another one, 'cause I have a whole bank of them swimming around my little head. And thanks for pointing out the goblet thing - you're right, my mistake. Sorry! I'm glad you like the fic, and please continue to read it! 


	3. Do We Have An Accord?

They stared at one another, both seemingly struck dumb by the sight of each other's less than pristine appearance. Jack found his gaze travelling to his young friend's midriff, where a bulge betrayed the fact that they were not alone. Unconsciously, Elizabeth laid a hand over her emerging bump, moving forward to embrace the pirate warmly.  
  
'What's going on, love?' Jack asked, after accepting her embrace somewhat tentatively.  
  
He could hear the crew preparing to be off, but for the moment was more concerned by the presence of a pregnant Elizabeth and the absence of Will. Elizabeth sighed softly, and he could see tears spring up in her eyes.  
  
'He's gone, Jack,' she sobbed softly. 'Will's been taken.'  
  
Confronted with a crying woman, the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow found himself speechless. He patted her shoulder gently, if awkwardly.  
  
'There, there, love, there, there . . .'  
  
The ship lurched, and he instinctively leant in the opposite direction to prevent himself being thrown off balance. Kneeling before Elizabeth, he lifted her chin with his finger, making her look up at him.  
  
'Tell me what happened, love.'  
  
She raised tearful eyes to his, drawing in a deep breath to calm herself.  
  
'It was the Stella Maris,' she began, nodding as Jack let out a low whistle. 'She attacked as we made for Gibraltar. We didn't stand a chance. Danielson ordered the crew to be confined in the brig, and they scuppered her. They sank the Lady Swan with all hands . . .'  
  
Her voice trailed off as the horror of what had been done washed over her once again. Jack waited, knowing the tale was far from over.  
  
'Danielson said he'd keep Will for ransom, and that I was to be put adrift,' Elizabeth continued. 'But the Red Dragon attacked them before they could make speed. Something was taken from Captain Fitzpatrick, I don't know what, but they took me on board before the Stella Maris got away. Now Will's gone, and I'm to be held here until whatever was taken is returned, and I don't know what to do, Jack.'  
  
Jack nodded slowly.  
  
'They took you on board before the Maris got away?' he asked. 'Was she listing at all?'  
  
Elizabeth shook her head, frowning slightly.  
  
'Not that I'm aware of,' she told him.  
  
There was a footstep on the stair behind them.  
  
'We were the ones listing, Jack lad.'  
  
Captain Elias Fitzpatrick stepped down into the gloom, followed closely by the girl who had brought Jack on board.  
  
'Surprised to see me, boy?' he asked, a huge grin on his grizzled face. 'I'm not surprised to see ye.'  
  
'What part of being dead have you no understanding of, Fitz?' Jack shot back coolly. 'The no breathing part give you problems, hmmm?'  
  
Elias laughed.  
  
'Ye didn't lose yer wit on that spit of land then,' he said approvingly. 'Shame about yer sanity.'  
  
'What have you done with my ship, Fitz?'  
  
Elias ignored him, motioning to the girl by his side to tend to Elizabeth. She slipped past Jack to kneel beside the young woman, her hands cool and gentle on the lady's flushed skin. As she ministered to their guest, Jack was ushered up on deck, and into the captain's cabin.  
  
'Well, now, boy, I'm sure ye be wanting to know why it is we sprang ye free,' Elias began, offering his unwilling guest to take a seat.  
  
'I don't know, perhaps you wished to return my effects from the last time we encountered one another, mate.'  
  
Elias laughed again, knowing he had the upper hand. He had seen the concern on Jack's face when he had seen Elizabeth's distress and knew he had guessed right in coming to find the irritating pirate.  
  
'Ye'll listen to me, Jack lad, or ye'll forfeit the young lady's life,' he said, suddenly no longer amused. 'I have proposition for ye, one that ye'd be wise to consider.'  
  
Jack regarded him for a moment before throwing himself into the chair.  
  
'I'm all ears.'  
  
Elias gave him a cool stare, holding the moment for a long while. Then he straightened up, and began to pace the cabin.  
  
'Something has been taken, from both myself and the young lady, and both need to be returned,' he said firmly. 'Now, I can hardly be taking a vulnerable young woman such as Will Turner's on an escapade that could be the end of us, now can I? And he would hardly come with me, anyways, he knows not my face nor my ship. But ye, now ye he trusts.'  
  
Jack's eyes narrowed.  
  
'Give me Elizabeth and return us to the Pearl, and you'll have your trinket when we have Will,' he proposed.  
  
Elias' gaze turned even colder.  
  
'Now I knew ye'd try to make such a bargain with me, Jack lad, but I knows ye of old,' he hissed, suspicious. 'Ye'd fetch back the lad for his lass, and pay no mind to what was taken from us. Nay, that will not do, boy. I be having a far better plan.'  
  
He moved around the table until he was sat facing his guest.  
  
'Ye take after the Stella Maris and retrieve both lad and trinket, and return the lass to ye we will, once our effect is on board once again.'  
  
'With your being a pirate, there is very little certainty of your word being trustworthy,' Jack countered. 'As we are both aware.'  
  
'As I recall, 'twas yer word that proved a mite unsteady, boy,' Elias answered, his tone harsh. 'As we are both aware.'  
  
Jack inclined his head, a slight smile on his lips as he recalled the escapade that had rounded off his last meeting with the Red Dragon.  
  
'What is this trinket that it is so important to you?' he asked, his thoughts working through the pros and cons of the plan.  
  
Elias grinned, seeing his old adversary considering the proposition.  
  
''Tis just a token, but has great sentimental value to us all,' he told Jack. 'A silver locket.'  
  
Jack raised an eyebrow.  
  
'That's it, is it? You're prepared to kill a woman, who is with child, I might add, for a piece of jewellery?'  
  
He chuckled.  
  
'And they say I'm insane.'  
  
Elias' fist slammed down onto the table, his features furious.  
  
'Like I said, 'tis of sentimental value,' he repeated. 'Will ye go, or does the lady?'  
  
Jack regarded him for a long moment, seeing no other way out of the trap he was caught in.  
  
'One condition,' he said, watching as the surprise lit up his adversary's face. 'You give me one of your crew, someone of as much value to you as Elizabeth is to me, just so I know you'll keep your word. If I go back on my word, you get Elizabeth. You go back on yours, I get your crew member. Savvy?'  
  
Elias frowned. He knew this part of the code well, had utilised it many times and knew its merit. But which member of his crew would the unpredictable Jack Sparrow pick?  
  
'I understand,' he said slowly. 'But which of me boys would ye be wanting to accompany ye?'  
  
Jack smiled in satisfaction.  
  
'None of them,' he said softly. 'I'd want the girl.'  
  
He had to hold back a grin as Elias' face paled abruptly. He had guessed right. The girl was the child Elias Fitzpatrick had pulled from the sea and brought up as his own. So she, too, had sentimental value to the crew.  
  
'Why her?' came the hoarse question.  
  
Jack shrugged.  
  
''Tis only fair, Fitz,' he said, his tone one of reason. 'After all, a woman for a woman. As Elizabeth has sentimental value for me, so does your girl for you. That way, neither of us go back on our word. Savvy?'  
  
There was a long silence as Elias considered this slight change to his original plan. There was merit to it, but could he bear the thought that Marin could be in danger? Such a threat was sure to keep him honest in his dealings with Jack Sparrow, and he had no doubt that the lady was as important to the irascible pirate sitting before him. But he had a reason for wanting to keep young Marin as far from the Stella Maris as possible, though he would never divulge it. Still, she was well able to defend herself, and if he knew Jack Sparrow as he thought he did, he would never allow her to be placed in unnecessary danger.  
  
'Ye'll return both her and the locket to us in Tortuga,' he confirmed, 'and the lady will be returned to her man. Do we have an accord?'  
  
A slow grin spread across Jack Sparrow's face as he stood to take Elias Fitzpatrick's hand.  
  
'We do.'  
  
*~*~*  
  
How will Marin react to this? Are you sure you want to know?  
  
Loads of thanks to Sorsheit, the only one to review my last chapter! I do agree, there weren't enough wisecracks, but I had to get him on the boat without too much fuss, see? I hope there are enough in it from now on. Keep reading! I assure you there is a plot!  
  
Shall I give you a hint? Come a bit closer . . . Reviews help me write faster. *gestures helplessly towards the little blue button* 


	4. Tis Bad Luck To Have A Woman Aboard

'What?'  
  
Marin's voice was deceptively quiet, though her eyes flashed with fury as she rounded on her captain. Elias took an involuntary step backwards under her stormy gaze.  
  
'You're handing me over to that . . . man . . . as a hostage?' she asked, her tone incredulous as she gestured wildly in Jack's general direction. 'I always knew you were different, but I never thought you were stupid.'  
  
Elias gave her a flat look, his coal black eyes suddenly burning with anger. With a swift kick, the door to his cabin flew open and he motioned her to go in. Refusing to budge, Marin held her ground, not prepared to back down on something as important as her freedom.  
  
'We'll continue this inside, Marin,' he told her firmly.  
  
Something about the tone of his voice made her suddenly uneasy. She shook her head, copper curls working loose from their binding.  
  
'No -'  
  
His tone was not one you would wish to argue with.  
  
'Inside, Marin.'  
  
She stared at him, torn between duty to her captain and downright fury at being treated like a child. After a moment struggling with herself, she threw up her hands and stalked into the stern cabin, shooting a vicious glare at Jack as Elias stumped in after her.  
  
Jack allowed himself a small smile, glancing around at the crew, who suddenly found themselves intensely interested in lengths of rigging and sailcloth they had never investigated fully before. His eyes fell on Elizabeth, standing at the hatch, her expression one of astonishment.  
  
'Would you care to explain what all that was about?' she asked archly, not understanding his smug expression.  
  
Jack shrugged.  
  
'Should you be up on deck?'  
  
Her eyes narrowed sharply.  
  
'I'm pregnant, not dying,' he was told tersely. 'Come here and tell me what's going on.'  
  
With a wave of his hand, Jack bowed elaborately to her and obeyed.  
  
'Certainly, ma'am.'  
  
They returned to her cabin below decks, more to be out from under foot than anything. Somewhat unaccustomed to being alone with an expecting woman, Jack waited patiently for Elizabeth to make herself comfortable before thumping down into a chair.  
  
'Well?' Elizabeth asked.  
  
He endeavoured to look confused.  
  
'Well what, love?'  
  
The atmosphere in the cabin grew slightly less welcoming.  
  
'What's going on?' she asked again, her tone betraying the firm hold she had on her temper. 'And no lies, Jack.'  
  
He gave her a wide eyed stare.  
  
'Would I do that? Does this look like a face that could lie to you?' he protested, somewhat weakly.  
  
Elizabeth's eyebrow rose.  
  
'Yes,' she shot back succinctly.  
  
Jack held her gaze for a moment, before shrugging once again.  
  
'Fair enough,' he conceded. 'What it all boils down to is this: I have accepted a commission to retrieve Will and a certain locket belonging to Fitz from the Stella Maris, but Fitz is insisting on keeping you with him while I do so.'  
  
'Whatever for?'  
  
He let out a long suffering sigh.  
  
'To keep me honest, love, I can't think why,' he said diffidently.  
  
Elizabeth hid a smile at his aggrieved expression.  
  
'I can,' she murmured, before adding in a louder voice, 'So what has this to do with Marin?'  
  
'Ah yes, the girl,' Jack agreed. 'Pretty thing, lovely name . . . I've invoked the code. If he's holding you to keep me honest, I'll hold her to keep him trustworthy. Savvy?'  
  
A frown appeared on his young friend's face.  
  
'Doesn't she have a say in this at all?' she questioned. 'You can't just expect her to go with you willingly . . . especially after what you did to her in Port Royale.'  
  
'So you heard about that, did you?' he grinned, leaning back in the chair. 'She doesn't have a choice, Elizabeth love, Fitz has shaken on it. Marin will go with me, willing or no.'  
  
'That's barbaric!' Elizabeth declared, shocked at this cool bargaining with the girl's life.  
  
Jack shrugged once more, heaving himself to his feet as footsteps on the deck above them slowed and stopped.  
  
'So it may seem, but that's piracy, love,' he told her. 'Now I'm going on deck to see how many limbs Fitz is missing. Join me?'  
  
He extended a hand to help her from her seat. She stared at him, speechless for a moment, and took his hand, allowing him to lead her back up into the salty breeze just in time to see Marin burst forth from the cabin, muttering expletives under her breath as she stormed to the prow of the ship. The crew scattered before her, giving the impression that they were used to her temper. Elias stood in the doorway, his face red with anger at his girl's stubborn nature.  
  
'I take it the persuasion didn't go as planned?' Jack asked innocently.  
  
He found himself on the receiving end of a truly hostile glare and the cabin door slammed shut behind Elias, leaving him to stand with Elizabeth amid the sudden bustle that enveloped the crew once more.  
  
*~*~*  
  
The sea breeze blew cool on her flushed skin, calming the irate young woman far more effectively than any words or gestures could. There was something about the motion of a ship, the freedom of the open seas, that called to something deep within her, surrounding her with a feeling of safety and security.  
  
Marin sighed. She knew the code had been invoked, knew also that Elias had not been bound by duty to inform her of his decision. He was bound by his word, and she also, bound to Jack Sparrow for the duration of his mission until both locket and man were returned to their rightful owners. There was nothing she could say or do that would counter the decision already made without her consent.  
  
Then, too, there was Elizabeth to consider. Marin was well aware of her protector's reputation, and knew that he would not be above marooning her new friend if it meant the return of his locket. Unconsciously her fingers touched a similar trinket that hung around her neck, glinting in the dawn light.  
  
She would not be a party to the deliberate murder of an innocent woman, let alone one in whom an even more innocent life was forming. She had had the care of Elizabeth since they had rescued her from the Maris, and the two had become friends very quickly. She knew how much her husband meant to Elizabeth, and could not bear the thought that, because of her stubbornness, they might never be together again.  
  
Why then was she so against the idea of sailing with Jack Sparrow? For she was sure it was the man himself who had turned her so against the proposition. She was angry with herself for letting him get under her skin, and thanks to Dugan, the entire crew knew of his advance on her in the alleyway. However, they also knew she was less than happy with the encounter, a fact that had spared her a great deal of teasing.  
  
Unbidden, her thoughts turned to the moment when his lips had touched hers. Taken by surprise, she had been more than a little shocked at his forwardness, even more so by the spark that grew within her the longer he held her close. She had fought him, or tried to, on principle, but she would never admit to anyone the unwanted feeling that she would have been happy for him to hold her that way for eternity. He had stirred something within her that she did not understand, and that irritated her. She did not want to give him the chance to do so again.  
  
With a small noise of disgust at herself, she shook the thoughts from her mind, letting the soothing motion of the ship calm her frazzled nerves. There was a shout above her that a sail was sighted, but she knew it would be the Black Pearl, come to retrieve their captain as they were promised. She would have to follow him aboard, and earn a place among his crew on the voyage to Tortuga, where their search would begin.  
  
She became aware of a presence behind her, and turned to find Elizabeth walking tentatively across the deck to join her. The two women stood together for a long while, watching as the sun rose bright over the Caribbean, and the Pearl drew alongside. Elizabeth drew in a breath, and Marin held up a hand to forestall her question.  
  
'I will go,' she said softly. 'Though not for any of them.'  
  
She turned to face her friend, laying a gentle hand on the new life growing within her.  
  
'I will go for you, and your child,' she promised, feeling her heart go out to Elizabeth as tears sprang into the young woman's eyes. 'You will have your man back, Elizabeth, I swear it.'  
  
Unable to find any other way to show her how much the oath meant, Elizabeth pulled the younger girl into her embrace, sobbing softly into her hair as they stood together in the bow.  
  
'Thank you,' she whispered, drawing back with a grateful smile.  
  
They heard the thump of the boarding plank as it swung into place between the two ships, and Marin felt her insides clench with unaccustomed apprehension at what she was letting herself in for. There was a cough nearby.  
  
Dugan smiled up at his friend, his cheerful face strangely sad, holding out a string bag to Marin as she moved to pass him.  
  
'Here, Miss Marin,' he said quietly, pushing the bag into her hands. 'I packed yer effects fer ye. Cap'n said ye'd be wanting tae board the Pearl wi' Mr Sparrow.'  
  
Marin forced a smile for the little lad, ruffling his hair affectionately.  
  
'Thank you, Dugan, that was very kind of you,' she told him, trying not to sound too heart-broken at having to leave the ship she had grown up on, even if it were just for a few months.  
  
The walk to where Jack waited was one of the longest she had ever endured, and yet somehow she made it without stumbling or tripping, her manner poised and calm. The bag was taken from her unresisting hands and thrown across to the Black Pearl, with accuracy, if not care.  
  
Elias stood off to one side, his expression unreadable as he regarded her. Marin felt her heart break again on seeing his neutral expression, and she could not prevent herself from moving to embrace him, holding back tears for fear of seeming weak before another crew.  
  
'I'm sorry,' she murmured, as his arms came up to wrap possessively around her shoulders.  
  
She felt him sigh, his hand stroking her hair with the gentleness he had never shown any other.  
  
'As am I, lass,' he muttered.  
  
She pushed herself out of his embrace, a tender scowl on her expressive features.  
  
'And don't you let me hear you've been mistreating your guest,' she threatened. 'Or I'll mistreat you when I get back.'  
  
Elias chuckled half-heartedly, unable to meet her eyes as she moved to stand beside the boarding plank. Jack offered her a hand up, and her gaze froze instantly.  
  
'I am perfectly capable of walking aboard the Pearl myself, Mr Sparrow,' she said icily, proving her point deftly as her boots hit the deck of said ship gracefully.  
  
Jack rolled his eyes, executing a near perfect bow to the crew of the Red Dragon.  
  
'Keep to the code, gentlemen,' he said warmly, with a grin for Elizabeth where she stood by Elias.  
  
They watched him over the boarding plank, each feeling a little something go with him. The bo'sun stepped forward.  
  
'Beggin' yer pardon, cap'n, but should we be lettin' Miss Marin go alone?'  
  
Elias tore his eyes from the ship across from them.  
  
'Whatever happens, from now until the moment she sets foot among us again, is her challenge and hers alone,' he told his crew, and they could hear the sorrow in his voice at losing her, for any length of time. 'She must learn to cope without us.'  
  
Aboard the Black Pearl, Jack was giving his orders and relaying an abridged version of his bargain to his crew. Marin stood off to one side, watching as they pulled away from the only home she had ever known.  
  
A rope flapped past, and she instinctively grabbed for it, looking around for somewhere to secure the offending article. It was taken from her hands by a large sailor, who inclined his head to her politely.  
  
'Thanks to you, miss, but a little lady such as yourself should not be working alongside sailors,' he said respectfully, hurrying past to secure the rope himself.  
  
'But - ' Marin began, but he had moved out of earshot.  
  
A stout man approached her, his weathered features stern.  
  
'Well, miss, you'll be wanting to escape the company of these rough men, won't you?' he said shortly. 'I'll have someone show you to your cabin.'  
  
'But I can help,' Marin protested, but was interrupted before she could get any further.  
  
'Pardon me, miss, but you won't,' he said firmly. 'You're not one of us, so we'd ask you to keep to your cabin. Cotton here will take you below.'  
  
As she was ushered below decks by the mute Cotton, Gibbs returned to Jack's side, shaking his head in apprehension.  
  
'I've always said, cap'n, 'tis bad luck to have a woman aboard,' he warned.  
  
Jack glanced over at Marin's retreating back.  
  
'As I believe I have said before, Mr Gibbs, about another such woman,' he replied, pulling out his compass to check his bearings, 'it'd be far worse not to.'  
  
*~*~*  
  
What do you think?  
  
And oh my gosh, I got TWO reviewers for one chapter! RESULT!  
  
Savy - aww, you're so sweet. I'm really, really trying to get another chapter out soon, maybe tomorrow or the day after, but then you know, these little demons in my head keep coming up with plotlines! Argh! But I won't abandon this one, I promise!  
  
jackfan2 - finally, someone who thinks the way I do! I've always thought Jack would stay fond of Liz and Will, and I'm trying to show that in this story. I'm sooo glad you like it.  
  
Actually, I have a question for anyone who fancies clicking on the little blue button down there *hint, hint*. Is my characterisation up to scratch? 


	5. I Never Knew You Cared

They docked in Tortuga a few days later, leaving the Red Dragon to limp into harbour under her own power since she would not be joining them in their search. Jack knocked on Marin's door, wondering if there was anything within that would do him damage if she threw it at him.  
  
'Yes?'  
  
He drew in a deep breath and stepped inside, braving her icy expression to stand beside her at the porthole.  
  
'I was wondering if you had a wish to stretch your legs, love,' he said pleasantly. 'We're in Tortuga.'  
  
Marin's tone was scathing.  
  
'Really? I would never have guessed.'  
  
Jack paused, taken aback by her refusal to even be pleasant to him. Admittedly, he had suggested to the crew that they keep away from her, and she didn't seem to have taken that too well. He tried again.  
  
'The crew and I are stepping ashore,' he told her. 'Perhaps you would like to join us?'  
  
She turned to stare at him, incredulous. Since the moment she had set foot on board the Black Pearl, the crew had pointedly ignored her, and Gibbs had made it abundantly clear that they were acting on captain's orders. Jack, on the other hand, had made it a point to visit her every day, making her feel even more of a prisoner when she could smell the sea salt on his clothes, and see the windswept look of his hair. Why should she want to spend any more time in his company than she had already?  
  
But then, she had been shut up in this tiny cabin for three days, with only glimpses of the sea and sun. She was going stir-crazy, and knew she needed to get out, even if it were only for a few minutes. The prospect of an evening ashore was too good an opportunity to pass up.  
  
'I would love to join you, Mr Sparrow,' she said, her tone a deal warmer than it had been all week.  
  
Jack blinked in surprise. He hadn't thought she would give in so easily.  
  
'Well, then, love, I am here to escort you to the boats,' he said, stepping aside for her to leave the little cabin. 'And it's Captain Sparrow.'  
  
He didn't see the tiny smile that broke on Marin's face as he fell in behind her.  
  
'Why should I call you that?' she asked politely. 'You're not my captain.'  
  
Jack pondered this for a moment, seeing the logic behind her reasoning.  
  
'Fair enough, love,' he conceded. 'Then I would consider it an honour if you would call me Jack.'  
  
'Oh, I couldn't do that,' Marin protested, and this time, even he could hear the amusement in her voice. 'We haven't been properly introduced.'  
  
Rolling his eyes in resigned acceptance, Jack motioned for the crew to help her down into the boat, noticing with a slight pang of jealousy how she allowed them to help her without a word. She wouldn't have let him do anything for her, of that he was certain. Perhaps she was still sore about the kiss, he thought, feeling his mind stray back to the alleyway.  
  
He didn't know why he had done it. He hadn't been in mortal danger, so it wasn't a last chance for an earthly delight. She certainly hadn't been willing, so he hadn't done it for her sake. Something about her intrigued him, and he was determined to unravel the mystery around her.  
  
He thumped into the boat beside her, careful not to intrude on the personal space around her slender form, and gave the order to shove off. This should be an interesting evening.  
  
*~*~*  
  
The crew were received with open arms by the people of Tortuga, leading Marin to guess that the Black Pearl spent more time docked here than any other port in the Caribbean. On their arrival, Jack was slapped a grand total of six times, by six entirely different women, much to the hilarity of the crew. Scarlet spat on him as he sauntered past, and Giselle wouldn't even acknowledge his presence when he nodded to her. He took it all in his stride, however, merely shrugging his acceptance of their treatment of him.  
  
One of the younger men, an amiable fellow by the name of Solomon, had been put in charge of her for the night, and hadn't been slow to make friends with his companion. He kept close by her side, amusing her with side comments on the captain's behaviour and how well he deserved the punishment that was meted out to him by the whores of Tortuga.  
  
They entered a rowdy tavern, men peeling off the group to make themselves reacquainted with those who lived in the port. At Jack's command, Gibbs stayed close to him, as did Marin, since she was technically under the captain's protection, and no one else's. Together the four of them approached a table occupied by a single woman.  
  
'Ana Maria!' Jack greeted her warmly, seating himself before her. 'A pleasure it is to see you once again, and how lovely you look this evening!'  
  
Ana Maria looked him over once with a distasteful expression, and nodded to Marin with a smile.  
  
'Don't tell me he's got his hands on you too, Mar,' she said, ignoring him for a moment.  
  
Marin grinned at her old friend.  
  
'Only temporarily,' she assured the female captain. 'I see you've got a new ship.'  
  
'Aye, the Dryad,' Ana Maria told her, a faint smile lightening her dark features. 'Found her anchored off Port Smith couple of months ago.'  
  
'Correct me if I'm wrong, but she has the look of a ship of the line,' Marin mentioned, ignoring the startled looks she got from all three of her male companions.  
  
Ana Maria laughed.  
  
'You're not wrong there. Pride of the King's Navy, she is.'  
  
'Was,' Marin corrected, with an impish grin.  
  
Ana Maria nodded again, hiding her smile behind the tankard she raised to her lips. Setting the worn metal back on the tabletop, she turned her attention to Jack.  
  
'What do you want, Jack Sparrow?' she said bluntly.  
  
Jack looked offended.  
  
'Why would you think I would want anything from you, love?' he asked indignantly. 'Is the want of your company not good enough?'  
  
Ana Maria looked him over once again, before turning back to her tankard.  
  
'For you? Nothing is ever that simple with you,' she stated calmly, leaning back to regard him with expressionless eyes.  
  
Solomon coughed suddenly, spluttering something about getting a drink before hurrying away. Marin watched him go, feeling her own amusement at Ana Maria's treatment of Jack threatening to bubble over. She glanced over the crowd, suddenly unable to shake a feeling that something wasn't quite right with them.  
  
Her gaze travelled across the heaving mass of people, and lit on a young woman, not much older than herself. She was glaring murderously at Jack's back, and deftly weighing a knife in her hands. With presence of mind learnt from years living among pirates, Marin kicked Jack's chair from under him as the knife thudded into the table. He stared at the throbbing blade for a moment, knowing if he hadn't been knocked to the ground, it would now be decorating his back.  
  
Gingerly he reached out to still the vibrating blade.  
  
'Not sure I deserve that,' he muttered, letting Gibbs haul him to his feet.  
  
The attacking woman stalked through the crowd, grasping Marin's collar roughly.  
  
'Don't you do that again, you cow,' she hissed. 'He deserves all he gets.'  
  
Marin very calmly removed the woman's hands from her coat, her eyes never once leaving those of her aggressor.  
  
'Of that I have no doubt,' she told the woman. 'But he has a duty I must see him perform, and you won't kill him before then.'  
  
The woman sneered down at her, confident to a fault.  
  
'And who's going to stop me, little girl?' she laughed. 'You?'  
  
Aware that most noise and movement in the tavern had stopped to watch this by-play, Marin looked the older woman up and down. She could see, out of the corner of her eye, Gibbs holding Solomon back, and knew suddenly that this was her chance to prove herself to the crew of the Black Pearl.  
  
'If I must,' she said calmly.  
  
Instinct took over the crowd, and they began to move backwards, providing a largish space for the women to fight.  
  
'What's your name, darling?' the barkeeper shouted across the room.  
  
Never taking her eyes from Marin's neutral expression, the older woman removed her knife from the table.  
  
'Hester,' she called to him. 'My name's Hester.'  
  
He nodded, writing it down in a small book.  
  
'And yours, love?'  
  
Marin gave him her name, trying not to smile as he began taking bets.  
  
Hester turned away, laughing at her adversary, and spun back, throwing a punch at where Marin's face had been. Her balled fist hit unresisting air, throwing her off-balance slightly. She felt a tap on her shoulder, and Marin's fist smashed into her face. As she staggered back, there was a roar from the crowd and her knife appeared in her hand.  
  
Not wanting to face her in an unfair fight, Marin drew her dirk from her boot, circling her opponent with the grace of a cat. She could see Ana Maria watching her, one hand restraining Jack from involving himself. This was her fight, she took it to understand, even if she was fighting for him.  
  
Hester lashed out with her knife, causing Marin to stumble sideways to escape the deadly blade. Sensing an advantage, Hester rushed her prey, bending her back over a nearby table as she tried to plunge her knife between the younger girl's ribs. Marin's free hand held a vicelike grip on her wrist, keeping the blade as far from her as possible. Her feet kicked the air for a moment, before finding a purchase on Hester's legs. The older woman went tumbling away as Marin kicked at the back of her knees, pushing herself upright once more.  
  
There was an approving roar from the crowd as both women came together again, blades flashing in the lamplight. Hester's knife flew from her hand, and she threw herself at Marin, pressing the girl back against a wall. As she fought to keep her opponent's hand from her throat, Marin was unaware that Hester was pushing her wrist up to the lamp beside them until it was too late. She gave a sharp cry of pain, and the blade dropped from her hand as the hot glass seared her unprotected skin.  
  
Now in pain, as well as angry, Marin threw Hester away from her, whimpering slightly at the pain in her hand before throwing herself back into the fight. Hester grasped a bottle, smashing the end to give herself a wicked looking weapon. Marin took one look, and made for the balcony above them, not prepared to fight a woman armed with a broken bottle. Hester watched her go in satisfaction, laughing as she declared herself the winner.  
  
She turned to glare once more at Jack, and found Ana Maria between her and the captain, who was peering into the crowd with interest.  
  
'Move,' she said harshly, her tone uncompromising.  
  
Ana Maria glanced over the woman's shoulder and smiled.  
  
'Whatever you say, my lady,' she said softly, and stepped backwards as Marin slipped from the crowd to Hester's side, wresting the bottle from her opponent's hand and throwing it in the fire. With a shriek of fury, Hester spun to face the younger girl, and met a fist coming towards her. There was a dull crack, and she slammed backwards into the wall, blood pouring from her nose.  
  
Breathless, Marin glanced about at the crowd, who were obviously waiting for Hester to get up again. She bent to retrieve her dirk, breathing hard, and heard the barkeeper announce her as the victor. There was a surge of movement towards the bar as men scrambled to collect their winnings. She noticed a fair number of the Black Pearl's crew among them. Gibbs gave her an approving grin as he jostled past, Solomon in tow.  
  
A hand gripped her shoulder, and she turned to find herself face to face with Jack, his expression one of feigned astonishment.  
  
'Darling, I never knew you cared,' he began, but didn't get any further.  
  
With a low snarl, Marin punched him, and he staggered backwards under the force of the blow. He gazed after her with unfocused eyes as she stalked away, shaking her head at his stupidity. Gibbs came up beside him, chuckling softly.  
  
'I told you it were bad luck to have a woman on board,' he said, slipping Jack's arm over his shoulders. 'Come on, sir, let's get you back to the Pearl.'  
  
*~*~*  
  
I LOVE YOU GUYS! You're all wonderful! *huge hugs all round*  
  
awoogawaltz - I have a confession to make. I'm not Scottish. If you read Terry Pratchett's 'The Wee Free Men', you'll know exactly where I got all the spellings for the accent from. But you'll forgive me that, won't you? *innocent smile*  
  
jackfan2 - I always think my chapters are too long, would you believe? It's nice to hear that someone doesn't mind the length. I reckon Liz and Jack would have set their differences aside by now - it has been about three years (!) - and after all, there's Will to consider isn't there?  
  
Savy - *shakes in terror* You wouldn't maroon little old me, would you? Although, if a certain captain were to come along, I'm not sure I'd mind - after all, I have to get my characterisation perfect, don't you think? *grin*  
  
Ariandir - cor, thanks! I get so worried when I'm writing Jack - he's such a tricksy character! I shall savour my muffins and rum, and you shall have to come round to tea at some point!  
  
Thanks again to all you wonderful, wonderful people who reviewed, you really made my day! *again with the pointing to the little blue button* 


	6. Think Again, Mr Sparrow

The groaning carried clearly across the deck, the crew exchanging grins at the sound of their captain's discomfort. Jack had refused to go below, saying the moonlight calmed him, and as such, every sound he made was heard clearly by the men settling down for the night across the deck.  
  
'Oh, stop complaining. I pulled the punch,' Marin told him, placing a wet cloth over his bruised nose.  
  
Jack sighed in pleasure as the cool moisture eased the pain in his face. Marin watched him for a moment, as amused by his complaints as his crew.  
  
'You know, I could have hit you harder,' she told him.  
  
His answer was somewhat muffled.  
  
'Why didn't you then?'  
  
Marin grinned.  
  
'I wanted to teach you a lesson about making a move on a girl, not knock whatever sense you have left from your brain,' she said impishly, drawing a smile from her wounded companion.  
  
He nodded gently, holding out a hand for her to shake.  
  
'Point taken,' he admitted, tentatively touching his nose through the cloth. 'We're square then, yes?'  
  
She smiled, removing the cloth carefully.  
  
'Yes, I'd say so.'  
  
He regarded her solemnly as she wiped the blood from his nose. Her blow had split the skin on the bridge of his nose and dazed him, but nothing more. However, he was making as much of a fuss of it as he could.  
  
She wasn't at all unpleasant to look at, he decided as she ministered to his injury. Her pale skin made for a marked contrast between her and the other women of the Caribbean, and he would not find any to match her copper curls in all the ports he had visited. But what really drew him in were her eyes, how you could tell what mood she was in by the hue of the grey. So far he had only seen them darkened in anger at him, but just now, they had settled into a lighter shade, with a hint of blue to shadow them, as she tended to his wound.  
  
Marin reached across him for another cloth, and hissed in sudden pain. Jolted from his contemplation of her face by the unexpected sound, Jack noticed the back of her hand was red raw, almost shiny under the moonlight, and remembered how Hester had held her hand against the lamp glass. He hadn't realised she had actually been hurt.  
  
His fingers brushed lightly over the burnt skin, and she drew in a sharp breath, suppressing the tears of pain that sprang to her eyes.  
  
'Have you tended to this yet, love?' he asked softly, taking the cloth from her hands and dipping it in the basin of water that lay beside them.  
  
Marin shook her head.  
  
'No, there's no need,' she began, biting her lip as Jack gently placed the now sodden cloth over her injured hand.  
  
'I would rather think there is,' he corrected her. 'Imagine what your captain would do to me if I returned to him damaged goods.'  
  
This unexpected comment drew a laugh from her, and the smile remained on her face for long moments after the laugh had died away. Jack lowered his eyes to her hand, where he was carefully cleaning the dirt from her burn, trying very hard not to hurt her any further. Marin watched him from under lowered eyelashes, surprised and more than a little confused by this side of the man who'd taken her hostage.  
  
She never would have thought him capable of putting someone else before himself and his ship, yet he was sailing off to rescue a man she had never heard of because of some connection between them. His hands were gentle on hers, and she could feel the calluses from years of living at sea. The lamp set between them illuminated the concentration on his face as he returned the favour she had done him by binding her hand with care she would never have expected from a man such as him.  
  
When he was done, he sat back, his gaze meeting hers with a mixture of amusement and concern. She could not tear her eyes from his, a fact that confused and worried her, yet at the same time was a comfort to her lonely heart. She desperately missed Elias and his crew, the men she had grown up among and loved as a family, and found herself glad that the evening's activities had put an end to the hostility between them.  
  
A tuneful melody floated on the breeze towards them, the sound of men singing softly to amuse themselves.  
  
'Come over the hills, my bonny Irish lass,  
  
Come over the hills to your darling  
  
You choose the road, love, and I'll make the vow  
  
And I'll be your true love forever . . .'  
  
Jack smiled, his gaze switching from Marin's to regard his men where they sat together under the stars.  
  
'They're singing for you, love,' he murmured quietly, amused by her frown.  
  
'Whatever for?' Marin asked him, flattered but unsure of why she deserved such a compliment.  
  
Jack sighed, leaning back with a noncommittal shrug.  
  
'Probably to apologise for ignoring you,' he told her. 'You'll be expected to muck in tomorrow, you know. You don't mind that, do you?'  
  
Marin gave him an exasperated look.  
  
'That's what I've been trying to do for the last three days,' she said indignantly, letting herself laugh at the warped logic that seemed to reign supreme on this ship. 'Of course I don't mind, Mr Sparrow.'  
  
Jack closed his eyes in resigned patience, heaving a heavy sigh before opening them once again to hold Marin's gaze with a calm expression.  
  
'I've asked you to call me Jack, love,' he said, his tone weary.  
  
Marin smiled, knowing her insistence on being proper was driving him up the wall.  
  
'As I said, Mr Sparrow, we haven't been properly introduced,' she said sweetly.  
  
Jack gave her a Look.  
  
'Love, I kissed you in a back alleyway of Port Royale,' he said in an exasperated voice. 'Do we really need to be formally introduced?'  
  
She held his gaze for a long moment, long enough for him to realise his mistake in mentioning the kiss again. With a sigh, he called down the deck to Gibbs, who ambled up to join them.  
  
'Aye, cap'n?' he said, winking down at Marin where she sat on a coil of rope.  
  
Jack glanced at the girl by his side and stood, hauling her to her feet beside him.  
  
'This young lady will not use my name until we've been properly introduced, so if you would do the honours . . .'  
  
It appeared for a moment as though Gibbs was going to laugh in his captain's face, so tight did his expression become, but he quickly overcame it.  
  
'I've always told you it were bad luck to have a woman on board,' he told him, ignoring the world weary sigh that accompanied his well known warning.  
  
He reached out to take Marin's hand, presenting her to Jack with a flourish.  
  
'Cap'n Jack Sparrow, may I present Miss Marin,' he said, loud enough for the rest of the crew to hear. 'Miss Marin, Cap'n Jack Sparrow.'  
  
Over the chuckles that filtered up through the night air, Jack bowed gracefully to Marin.  
  
'A pleasure to meet you, Miss Marin.'  
  
Holding back an overwhelming urge to giggle, Marin curtseyed to him.  
  
'And you, Mr Sparrow.'  
  
Jack's lips twitched in amusement as he gazed down at her.  
  
'Please, do call me by my given name,' he asked her, fully aware that the crew were watching this with great amusement.  
  
'Only if you will call me by mine,' she told him, biting down hard into her lip to prevent the laughter that was threatening to burst out.  
  
Jack inclined his head in agreement.  
  
'By all means, Marin.'  
  
She kept him waiting for a moment, before replying in kind. Jack grinned down at her, and turned back to Gibbs.  
  
'Thank you, Mr Gibbs, that will be all.'  
  
Gibbs glanced between them, feigning propriety.  
  
'Are you sure, cap'n?' he asked. ''Taint right to leave a lady and gentleman alone without a chaperone.'  
  
At this, Marin could no longer keep her laughter locked away, and peal upon peal of irrepressible giggles burst forth. The two men glanced at her in surprise, and exchanged a bemused look. Gibbs saluted Jack with a roguish grin, and marched back to the rest of the crew, no doubt to regale them with the reason for the theatrics on the forecastle.  
  
The two left alone sat once again, sharing a smile for the pointless display of impeccable manners they had just put themselves through. From across the water came the sound of many other voices joining the singing that sounded from the Pearl's crew. Glancing over the water, they could see the Dryad, rolling gently, and her crew lined along the deck, sharing in the music.  
  
'I take it Ana Maria agreed to your proposal,' Marin said softly, her eyes sparkling still with undisguised humour.  
  
Jack nodded.  
  
'Who wouldn't want to put one over on Christian Danielson?' he asked. 'He's done us all out of something at some point.'  
  
As she threw back her head to laugh at his logic, Jack's eyes caught a flash of silver from the open neck of Marin's shirt.  
  
'That's a rare trinket you wear, love,' he said admiringly.  
  
Marin's fingers moved to touch the locket, drawing it from the folds of her shirt to show him the craftsmanship.  
  
'It was my father's,' she said softly, tracing the fine engraving on the front with a slender fingertip. 'He used to live out here and send things home to us before . . . well, I don't really know anything about it. I was very young when everything changed. This was the last thing he sent me.'  
  
Reaching out to take the finely wrought piece in his roughened fingers, Jack ran a gentle thumb over the engraving, admiring the work that had gone into making it.  
  
'What happened?' he asked gently, sensing that she had no trouble speaking of her past.  
  
Marin smiled faintly.  
  
'I remember my mother was so insistent that I wear this,' she said, not ready to begin her tale just yet. 'She used to ask me every day if I was wearing my father's locket. It was only a few months before he sent for us.'  
  
She paused, searching through her memories for the time she was describing.  
  
'We took a ship to come out and join him, that I do know,' she said confidently, 'but I don't remember much about the journey, just that we were attacked and sunk, and I never saw my mother again.'  
  
Jack nodded slowly, a slight frown on his face as he examined the markings on the beautiful locket. The front face was embossed with four interlocking rings, the lower left one of which had a faint chain engraved around it. The whole piece was large, especially for a woman's necklace, fitting neatly in the palm of his hand.  
  
'The next thing I remember is being pulled out of the water, and someone telling me that I was safe now and there was no need to be afraid,' Marin continued. 'I've lived with Elias ever since.'  
  
'Have you heard from your father in all these years?'  
  
It was at this point that Marin found the words would not come easily. She had not spoken of her past to anyone but those of the Red Dragon's crew, and was achingly aware of how alone she really was.  
  
'Elias tried to find him, but he was already dead,' she said thickly, as if trying to hold back a tidal wave of emotion. 'Murdered. They took me back to Ireland to see if they could find anyone of my family there, but no one admitted it, if there were.'  
  
Jack sighed, unhappy now that he had asked her to tell him, since it obviously hurt her to remember such a dark passage of time. His hand closed over hers, and she flinched at his rough skin on her burn.  
  
'Ah, my apologies,' he said quickly, his face a grimace of anxiety as she rubbed the offending limb.  
  
Marin smiled, not one to let a little sorrow dampen her spirits.  
  
'Not to worry, it'll heal eventually,' she said cheerfully.  
  
Jack felt himself relax, suppressing the sigh of relief that rose in his chest. A thought occurred to him.  
  
'D'you know, I have no idea what it is Elias wants me to collect?' he said incredulously. 'How am I supposed to know which trinket on the Stella Maris belongs to him?'  
  
Marin laughed quietly, shaking her curls out of her face.  
  
'You're not,' she told him. 'That's why you'll be taking me with you.'  
  
Jack held up his hands to ward off that suggestion.  
  
'Now look here,' he started, regretting his choice of words as her gaze flattened. 'I'm not allowed to put you in a situation where you could get hurt. The code, see? So you're not boarding the Maris. I'm going by me onesies, savvy?'  
  
She regarded him calmly.  
  
'Then how will you know what you're looking for?' she asked pointedly.  
  
'Well . . . you'll tell me, I'd imagine,' Jack said hopefully.  
  
Marin laughed derisively and stood, stretching her tired muscles.  
  
'Think again, Mr Sparrow.'  
  
He stared after her as she slipped below decks, feeling as though, for the first time in his life, he had met his match.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Heh heh . . . I have a surprise for you guys. Just read the Author's Notes. 


	7. What Have We Here?

The night air was filled with the sound of raucous laughter and many men thoroughly enjoying themselves. The Stella Maris lay anchored off the shore, protected from the weather by a cove of sorts. The men were resting after a long day, amusing themselves as best they could.  
  
In their midst, a young man was jostled back and forth, his hands tied and his eyes covered with a coarse cloth. Each time he stumbled, or fell, a cheer went up from the men, and the game would begin again. His fury was mounting, but he refused to lash out at them, knowing it would only give them cause to provide him with more pain.  
  
Another man walked into the moonlight, quiet and contemplative as he watched his men's antics. As he passed them, the men stood to attention for a moment, their eyes hard as they looked on the man they had made their captain.  
  
Christian Danielson smiled a grim smile. He knew he had not endeared himself to his men by setting the woman afloat, nor by calling off the attack on the Red Dragon when he had procured what he had wanted. They certainly didn't understand why they were keeping Will Turner, when he should have been set adrift with his wife, or killed. But then, Danielson did not keep to any code but his own.  
  
He signalled the game to stop, and drew the blindfold from Will's eyes. The younger man scowled at him, hatred seeping from every pore.  
  
'Well, Mr Turner, how do you like the hospitality of the Stella Maris?' Danielson asked him insincerely.  
  
Will snarled angrily.  
  
'You swore I'd go free,' he spat. 'You're no more a man of your word than Barbossa was.'  
  
Danielson drew in a mocking breath, shaking his head at the furious pirate.  
  
'Strong words, Mr Turner,' he disapproved. 'Are you sure you'll be able to back them up?'  
  
Before Will could answer, there came a loud cry from the crow's nest.  
  
'Sail ho!'  
  
Every head, including Will's, snapped up to peer into the gloom above them.  
  
'Where away?' the bo'sun shouted back, and Will found himself waiting anxiously for the answer.  
  
Despite himself, he desperately wished to be rescued, before Danielson began slicing off his limbs. Thoughts of Elizabeth and their unborn child crowded his mind, and he found himself hoping the ship approaching was here to return him to them.  
  
'Larboard!'  
  
The pirates hurried to peer over the larboard side, and sure enough, a ship could be seen emerging from behind the headland. There was no way they couldn't have seen the Maris even though she was tucked into the cove.  
  
'Sir, it's the Dryad,' the first mate told the captain, peering through a telescope. 'She's running up a signal.'  
  
He handed the telescope to Danielson, who put it to his eye, his lips moving silently as he worked out the message being sent to them. With a short laugh, he lowered the eyeglass, turning to his crew with an incredulous expression.  
  
'They're taking on water, and wish to come alongside,' he told them, for once letting his crew laugh at something so ridiculous. 'Run up a signal, Mr Lundy. Tell them to come alongside. We're not going anywhere, are we, lads?'  
  
He glanced over the men as they laughed nervously, obviously not at all used to seeing their captain in such a good mood. His eyes fell on Will, and the good humour vanished.  
  
'Take young Mr Turner below,' he ordered, his eyes glinting maliciously. 'Make sure he's comfortable.'  
  
He turned away as Will was dragged from the deck, and no one saw the small figure slip from the rigging and into the stern cabin.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Will was marched down to the brig and thrown bodily into the cell, watching impassively as the pirate locked him in. He couldn't help but feel anxious that the Dryad, Ana Maria's ship, was sailing straight into the mouth of danger. Asking for help was not something he would have expected from her, to tell the truth, but then, he did not know Ana Maria as well as he should. From the way she treated Jack, he wasn't sure if he wanted to.  
  
The wooden bench was damp beneath his hand, and he felt his stomach turn at the smell that rose from the dark recesses of the deck. He had been left a single lantern, that illuminated very little of his surroundings, something he was almost grateful for. He had no wish to know what horrors lay in the bowels of this ship.  
  
Once again, as always when he was left alone, his thoughts turned to Elizabeth and what could have happened to her. He had seen her taken on board the Red Dragon, and was grateful for Captain Fitzpatrick's kindness in saving her, but still knew nothing of the man's character. How could he know that his wife and unborn child would be safe in the hands of pirate? There was only one pirate he would trust with them, and unfortunately he had not come across the Black Pearl for a long while.  
  
There was a clink from the cell door, and he looked up sharply. His alarm melted away as he looked into a very familiar, very welcome grin.  
  
'Jack!'  
  
Jack winced, motioning him to keep his voice down, as he fiddled around inside the lock.  
  
'Save the greetings for later, we've not got much time,' he told him, listening for the loud click that would set his young friend free. 'All you need to know is that Elizabeth is safe, and we're going to get her as soon as we get off the Maris.'  
  
He swung the door outwards, and Will slipped out to join him. He grasped his effects from the table nearby as Jack turned to slip further into the ship.  
  
'Where are you going?' he hissed.  
  
'Making sure we don't have any problems in the pursuit area, mate,' Jack answered calmly. 'Still remember how to break a rudder chain?'  
  
Will felt a grin slip onto his face as he followed Jack Sparrow onto the upper decks of the Stella Maris, the sweet taste of freedom on his tongue.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Papers were strewn everywhere, chests flung open and bags untied, and still she couldn't find it. Marin had been searching Danielson's cabin since she and Jack had slipped aboard, and was still no closer to finding her captain's trinket than before. It didn't help that every now and then a sailor would shuffle too close to the door for comfort and she would be forced to hide herself until he had passed.  
  
She was now knelt before the big desk, exercising her skills in lockpicking to get into the second of four locked drawers. The first had yielded nothing but maps and bearings, and a compass that squeaked loudly. The lock loosed with an audible click, and Marin quickly pulled out the drawer, heaving a sigh of relief as her fingers closed on Elias' locket.  
  
As she stood, the trinket stowed safely away in her belt pouch, the door swung in, and Danielson strode into his cabin, pausing for a moment at the sight of a young woman standing amidst the chaos that she had created. He locked the door behind him, a cruel smile on his lips.  
  
'Well, well,' he said conversationally. 'What have we here?'  
  
Marin swallowed hard, feeling her heartbeat speed up in a frightening manner. He was between her and the door, and the key was placed firmly in his pocket.  
  
'Oops, wrong ship,' she said cheerfully. 'I'm most dreadfully sorry about the mess, but my captain will be expecting me, so if you could see your way clear to letting me go?'  
  
Danielson's expression never changed. He stepped forward, moving towards her deceptively slowly.  
  
'I'm afraid I cannot do that, miss,' he told her, his tone full of insincere concern. 'You see, you cannot just present me with the sight of a lovely young woman and then take it away before letting me have my fill, now, can you?'  
  
Marin's eyes widened.  
  
'You wouldn't dare!' she exclaimed, alarmed by his proposition.  
  
He grinned at her, not a pleasant expression at all. Before she could prepare herself, he was upon her, his arms locking around her slender shoulders to prevent her from fighting as he pressed his lips against hers. Marin did the only thing she could think of. He let go of her instantly, blood welling up from his lower lip where she had bitten down.  
  
'Feisty little thing, aren't you?' he laughed. 'We can soon cure you of that.'  
  
Pouring a glass of brandy from one of the many bottles that stood on a surface, he downed the contents in one gulp, throwing back his head to let the burning fluid slip down easily. As he did so, the moonlight caught on a chain that hung around his neck, and Marin found herself staring at it, her grip tightening on the locket in her belt pouch.  
  
'I believe you have something of mine, miss,' Danielson went on, spying the hold she had on the cloth pouch.  
  
'It isn't yours,' she snapped. 'You stole it from Elias Fitzpatrick.'  
  
'Ah,' Danielson nodded. 'I should have guessed that old dragon would send someone else to do his own dirty work. I wouldn't have expected such a lovely young woman as yourself, though.'  
  
He reached out to touch her cheek, and she jerked back violently, her eyes on the open window beside them. As she moved backwards, the candlelight fell on her face, highlighting her features in golden light. Danielson froze, shocked beyond belief, as he saw a face from the past look out from the features of the little thief.  
  
'Bloody hell,' he muttered, staring wide-eyed at her. 'So Delaney did have a daughter.'  
  
He had no chance expound upon his words, because Marin brought her knee up as hard as she could. As he crumpled slightly, his eyes crossing in pain, she slammed his head down onto the desk, and he collapsed onto the floor, unconscious.  
  
There was no way she could slip out un-noticed now, she knew, since the crew would be waiting for the captain to return on deck. She glanced out of the window, and saw her companions waiting a little way away for her, two solitary figures cradled in a rowboat. With a shrug, she clambered up onto the windowseat and dived down into the cool welcoming waters of the cove.  
  
Jack grasped the back of her coat and hauled her aboard, looking her over for any sign that she had been hurt or injured. They had seen the altercation in the cabin from where they waited, and Will had had to physically restrain him from rushing to her rescue.  
  
He motioned Will to light the lamp that hung on the prow of their little rowboat as a signal to the Dryad. Another lamp was lit in answer, and immediately the Dryad began to come about, nowhere near close enough for the Stella Maris to open fire. If it was one thing Danielson's ship was known for, it was the short range of his guns.  
  
Marin slipped into an oarsman's seat, taking one of the oars from the man they had been sent to rescue.  
  
'Nice to meet you, Will Turner,' she said pleasantly. 'I'm Marin.'  
  
He smiled down at her, obviously amused by her cheerful state.  
  
'Pleasure, Marin,' he replied as they drew on the oars. 'What's going on?'  
  
A shadow passed across Marin's face as she remembered the locket around Danielson's neck, and the look on his face when he had seen hers in the candlelight.  
  
'That's what I'd like to know,' she muttered softly as they pulled away from the crippled Stella Maris, and out of the cove to the warm welcome of the Black Pearl. 


	8. Not All Treasure Is Silver And Gold

Will frowned in confusion.  
  
'So what you're telling me is that you only came to get me because Elias threatened to kill Elizabeth if you didn't get his locket for him?' he asked, his tone a little harsher than he had intended.  
  
Jack nodded.  
  
'True enough.'  
  
'Then how do you know he hasn't killed her already?' the frantic husband demanded, his blood afire at thought of any harm coming to his wife.  
  
'That would be where Marin comes in, mate,' Jack told him, glancing over at where said girl was examining the locket she had retrieved.  
  
Will frowned, obviously unfamiliar with that part of the code. Jack sighed.  
  
'Look, she's one of his own, right?' he said wearily. 'So if any harm comes to Elizabeth, then I have the right to see that harm comes to Marin.'  
  
He watched sink in, before adding,  
  
'And vice versa, of course.'  
  
Will rolled his eyes in defeat at ever getting a straight answer from his friend, his gaze falling on Marin. She was sat against the forecastle wall, her eyes on Elias' Fitzpatrick's locket, and there was something about her that warned off anyone attempting to make conversation at that time.  
  
He turned back, and saw Jack's eyes on the girl, his expression a deal softer as he gazed at her than it was when he looked at any other woman. Will felt the beginnings of an idea form, fighting to suppress the grin that was trying to manifest itself on his face at the sight of Captain Jack Sparrow, gazing with mooncalf eyes at a girl.  
  
'Pretty little thing, isn't she?' he ventured, and Jack jolted out of his reverie, obviously surprised that he'd been caught staring.  
  
'Oh yes, lovely,' he agreed, a little flustered. 'Bit on the short side, though. Got a fiery temper on her too, mate.'  
  
Will nodded slowly, enjoying the sight of his normally cool friend trying to pretend he was not interested in his hostage.  
  
'Of course, with her being protected under the code, you couldn't act on certain impulses,' he said off-handedly.  
  
Jack looked shocked that he would even have suggested that.  
  
'I keep to the code, mate,' he said sternly. 'A hostage is not to be harmed in any way, and that includes certain impulses, as you so charmingly put it.'  
  
Will raised an eyebrow.  
  
'I thought the code was less rules, more guidelines,' he said quietly.  
  
'Not for me it isn't,' Jack snapped, irritated that the younger man had found his sudden weakness so soon.  
  
He turned away, regretting it instantly as his gaze fell once again on Marin. There was something about that girl that could freeze his capacity for normal thought as soon as he looked at her.  
  
'I would never try anything with that one,' he murmured, low enough that only Will could hear it.  
  
He didn't understand what was wrong with him. He was the master of the midnight tussle, the impulsive tryst, and yet he would not let himself even consider such an act with Marin. It was not just that she was a hostage, though he knew he was hiding behind that reason. It was because he was growing attached to her, and that was something he would have to curtail fairly soon if he was to leave this venture unscathed.  
  
Jack didn't know why she affected him so. She was no more unusual than Ana Maria, and no less innocent than Elizabeth had been when he first met her, both of whom he had made a move on, however clumsy. But Marin was somehow different. Perhaps it was because she had trusted him enough to tell him of her past, or the fact that no matter what he did, she always seemed to be one step ahead of him. He didn't look on her as a challenge, but more of a treasure, something to be protected and cherished. Words from his past echoed in his mind, doing nothing to calm his doubts.  
  
'Not all treasure is silver and gold.'  
  
He could still remember the look on Elias' face when the old pirate had told him that, those words that had remained burned into his memory, and recalled how he had followed the older man's gaze to where a child lay sleeping, curled up in a coil of rope. With a start, he realised that Elias had been speaking of Marin. She must have been the child to whom he was referring, and once again was the subject of that wisdom, though from a completely different viewpoint. He missed the days before his breaking with Elias, the advice his old mentor had used to give him. But then, if he had not broken with him when he did, Marin would have been even more off limits to him than she was now.  
  
Will watched him carefully, following the trend of his thoughts as varying emotions skittered across his friend's face. However he felt about his young guest, it was clear that, even if she had not been a hostage, Jack was not about to let any harm come to her. And that meant that Elizabeth would be well and safe when they reached Tortuga.  
  
A soft smile crossed his face at the thought of seeing his beloved wife again. It had been over three months since the sinking of the Lady Swan, and she would be well into her seventh month of pregnancy by the time they returned to Tortuga. He would have to ask Jack, or Captain Fitzpatrick, to take them to Port Royale. Elizabeth was determined to give birth in her father's house, and he did not doubt her ability to hold back the birth until then.  
  
The only problem that he could see was the fact that, in Tortuga, Marin would leave them and return to her own ship, and Jack would be left alone again. Will had been on the receiving end of Elizabeth's opinion that Jack needed a woman for a long time, and after seeing the change in his friend whenever Marin was around, found himself inclined to agree with her. He had to try his best to keep them together until they both admitted how they felt.  
  
For he had no doubt that Marin was just as confused about her feelings towards Captain Jack Sparrow as he was about her. Will had seen how she watched his friend, how her eyes lost the guarded look that marked them whenever Jack looked into them. He suspected that they would not need long together to know how they felt, but getting them to admit it would not be easy.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Marin stared at the locket in her hands, trying to shake the feeling that there was something she hadn't been told. Her fingertips traced the four interlocking rings, pausing over the upper right one, the one decorated with a faint chain. Unbidden, her other hand moved up to tug her own locket from her neck, holding the two side by side to compare them.  
  
They were identical in every way but one. The ring wrapped about with a chain was different on each. The lower left ring on hers was the one decorated, and the upper right on Elias'. She could not fathom why. How was it that her own trinket and that of her protector were so similar? Chance could not have much to do with it.  
  
And then there was the question of the piece she had seen about Danielson's neck. She had caught only a glimpse of it, but that had been long enough for her to see the interlocking rings. So Danielson had ownership of a third locket, as like her own as Elias'. But which of the rings on his was embossed with a faint chain? And could there be a fourth, to complete the set?  
  
She shook her head, wanting to clear her mind of her suspicions. She had trusted Elias with her life for over nineteen years, now was not the time to start doubting him. She would return his locket and that would be the end of it, no more questions or worries. She would put it out of her mind.  
  
But what of Danielson's exclamation, and the look on his face when she'd moved into the candlelight? He had seemed frozen in fear and shock, as though he had seen a ghost. Did he know of her father? He had mentioned that someone named Delaney had had a daughter, and she assumed it was in response to something familiar in her face. Was this Delaney her father? Mother, perhaps? All she knew was that both her parents were dead, nothing more. She could not even remember what her mother looked like. If Danielson were to be believed, then perhaps she could take his exclamation to mean that she looked like her father, though there was no way she could confirm it.  
  
She let out an exasperated sigh, irritated at herself for putting her in this situation. If only she hadn't been so stubborn with Jack . . . if she'd described the locket to him as he had asked, then she would never have gone on board the Stella Maris and encountered Danielson. She had no one but herself to blame for the incessant questions that filled her head.  
  
A large drop of water landed squarely on her nose. Another landed on her hand. Raindrops began to fall about her, heavy and loud on the wooden deck. Startled, she glanced up, surprised that she hadn't noticed the sky darkening before. But then, her mind was on other things. She quickly replaced her locket, and put Elias' in her pouch, moving to peer out across the water at the squall that was quickly heading their way.  
  
'All hands!' she heard Jack shout. 'Man the braces!'  
  
The crew dragged themselves up on deck, moaning about the weather's inconvenient timing, their movements too slow to be able to make any difference as they went about securing the ship. The wind was picking up, whipping the strands of hair that had escaped her knot into her face with stinging violence. A strong hand clamped onto her shoulder, and she turned to see Gibbs standing behind her.  
  
'I'm afraid, much as you may want to, there's too much risk of you being hurt or washed away to help us in this, Miss Marin,' he said sternly, but his eyes were kind. He knew how she loved the sea, and understood how having to stand aside while others did the work chafed at everything that made her who she was.  
  
'I know,' she said with a sigh, turning back to the deck.  
  
Jack gestured for her to join him at the helm, and she did so, feeling the roll of the ship start to swell in anticipation of the storm that was fast catching up to them. Men began to run about their duties, clambering up into the rigging to secure the sails as the canvas flapped alarmingly in the sudden gale.  
  
'Squall coming,' Jack told her cheerfully as she reached his side, ignoring the sarcastic grimace he received in return for his less than helpful comment.  
  
Will laughed at her expression, teasing a smile from her by refusing to back down when that same expression was pointed at him. Marin grinned, seeing why Elizabeth was so attached to her husband.  
  
The ship pitched forward suddenly, sending the two of them tumbling. Will rolled down off the poop deck, bumping down the steps with curses filling the air. Marin found herself grasped about the waist, prevented from falling by Jack Sparrow's strong arm holding her fast. He grinned down at her, seemingly unprepared to let go of her just yet.  
  
'Don't trip,' he muttered, adjusting his grip on the wheel as the Pearl began to pitch violently, crashing down into the valleys between waves that were higher than the forecastle itself.  
  
Salt water washed across the deck, soaking them all thoroughly. Marin gasped at the cold water on her skin, plastering her hair to her face, and instinctively turned towards the warmth of Jack's embrace. He obliged her, and they found themselves face to face, both shivering from the shock of the cold water.  
  
Marin was breathing hard, her lower lip quivering slightly. She bit down on it to stop her teeth from chattering. Jack couldn't look away from her as he held the ship on a steady course with one hand, the other still clasped around the girl pressed against his side. He bent slowly, their faces only centimetres apart as his warm breath caressed her lips. Marin felt her eyes begin to close in anticipation of the kiss.  
  
At that moment another wave came crashing across the deck, knocking them to their senses with the cold. They straightened, each knowing that they could not take this further. Jack shook the water from his hat, loosing his hold on Marin's shivering form.  
  
'You'd better get below,' he told her, returning both hands to the wheel, more to steady himself than from a wish to let her go.  
  
She nodded, staggering down from the poop deck with as much dignity as she could muster. As she disappeared into the ship, Will slid down to land beside Jack, a huge grin on his sopping face.  
  
'If you were waiting for the opportune moment . . . that was it,' he told him, enjoying the expression on Jack's face as the pirate remembered the last time that had been said between them.  
  
'Do yourself a favour, mate, shut up,' he was told, 'and help me lash the wheel.'  
  
Will obliged, knowing now that he had guessed correctly. This was something Elizabeth would be very interested to know. 


	9. And All Debts Are Paid

Jack stood in the prow of the Black Pearl, his eyes on Tortuga and the small gathering on the dock, awaiting their arrival on land. He could hear his crew swinging out the longboats, and Marin excitedly pointing out her friends to Will from where they stood out of the way. There was Elizabeth, standing beside Elias on the dock, the bulge of her waistline obvious even from this distance.  
  
Will would be glad to have her back, and Jack, too, if he let himself admit it. He was going to enjoy having their company on the trip back to Port Royale, despite the apparent threat from the King's Navy, not prepared to trust Elias Fitzpatrick with the only people he could call friends. Even if the old bear had trusted him with his most precious companion.  
  
Jack glanced sideways, to where Marin stood with Will, her cheeks flushed with excitement at seeing her surrogate family once again. He felt . . . strange, unlike he usually did when leaving a woman behind. Part of him wished for her to stay with them, with him, here on the Black Pearl, but he knew her place was by Elias' side. They were too close for him to even imagine tearing them apart to fulfil his own foolish fantasies.  
  
She had been more than a little withdrawn since her encounter with Danielson on the Stella Maris, refusing to talk about it, and had spent many hours staring at the two lockets, turning them over and over in her hands, as if trying to determine some deep secret. When he'd asked her about it, she had dismissed his concern, forcing a smile and changing the subject. But something had been said to her in that cabin that had unsettled the young woman, and he found himself wishing she would tell him so that he could set it right.  
  
He sighed, trying to focus himself on Will and Elizabeth's joy, not his own sudden heartache. It was not like his heart to get involved in any of his relationships, especially those with women. Admittedly, Will and Elizabeth were a special case, he owed them a debt of gratitude for enabling him to regain the Pearl in the first place.  
  
But Marin . . . there was no reason for him to have any feelings other than that of duty towards her. If the truth were known, it would be expected that the two of them should hate one another for the way Elias and Jack had broken with one another. Even after three months of sailing together, he was no nearer to understanding the young woman, nor his own growing attachment to her.  
  
Will's eyes met his, and Jack could have sworn he saw sympathy in his eyes. Not prepared to accept such a gift, even from his friend, he turned away abruptly, steeling himself against the concern in the younger man's gaze. Little did he know his cruel isolation was hurting one other than himself.  
  
Marin stared at his back, feeling a little piece of herself ache for what she could never have. As with Jack, she was torn between joy at the outcome of their mission, and sorrow at the parting from the man she was growing closer to with each passing day. She knew he had been trying to talk with her, and that her refusal to do so had disappointed him, though she also knew that there was nothing she could do that would hurt Captain Jack Sparrow.  
  
But, somehow, it was hard to imagine not waking up to the sound of his abominably tuneless singing, or not to be engaged in a battle of wills each time she spoke with the captain. Because after today, her captain would be Elias Fitzpatrick, whom she was longing to see once again, but who would go back to treating her as a wayward child who needed to be humoured.  
  
Perhaps the reason she found herself drawn to Jack was the fact that he did not treat her as anything but what she was, and somehow that had made a deep impression on her inexperienced heart. She was not one to think in terms of love and affection, but could not deny that each time her thoughts returned to contemplate the irascible pirate, it was fondly, with a smile for his more unusual qualities.  
  
What would Elias make of this? Marin smiled. No doubt he would accuse Jack of brainwashing her, of changing the way she thought. He would never accept the fact that she was falling for Jack Sparrow of her own accord. The smile faded. As soon as her feet touched that dock, she would be taken from the Pearl's crew and probably never see them again, not even Will and Elizabeth.  
  
Her jaw set firm. There was no way she would allow Elias to cut her off from people she felt certain would come to be important in her life. She would not be alone again.  
  
*~*~*  
  
As the longboat pulled alongside the dock, Elizabeth gave a small cry of joy, rushing forward to throw herself into her husband's arms. Elias smiled indulgently at them as they embraced one another tightly, Will's hand running tenderly over the smooth plane of his wife's swollen belly. The old captain let his gaze travel past the young couple to rest on a scene that brought a similar sense of joy to his heart.  
  
Marin was in the second longboat, her eyes on him as they drew near, her face lit with a warm smile. As he watched them draw alongside, Elias felt a slight shadow of concern dim his good humour. She was . . . different somehow, her eyes more thoughtful, less guarded, and he found himself wondering just what it was Jack Sparrow had done to his girl.  
  
That question was soon answered as he observed Jack climb up onto the dock and turn back, leaning down to offer his hostage a hand up. The Marin Elias thought he knew would never have stood for such a gentlemanly action, thinking it an insult to her capabilities, much preferring to clamber ashore under her own wind. Instead, she accepted the proffered hand with a smile, gazing up into Jack's eyes with affection. As Elias watched, Jack drew her carefully up beside him, one arm snaking about her waist as she stumbled slightly. The pirate's eyes never left her face for one moment.  
  
Elias smiled, a little grimly. So the weeks spent together had not just affected young Marin then. Jack would be in for a long, hard road, with a tough decision at the end of it. Elias had only seen that particular look in Jack's eyes once before, the possessive affection that lit up his face, on the day he had taken command of the Black Pearl for the first time. Whether they knew it or not, the old captain could see the bond that had grown between them in the months since their departure from Tortuga. He grinned in satisfaction. It couldn't have worked out better if he'd planned it.  
  
As it was, he didn't have long to wait before Marin spied him standing there, almost tumbling headlong into his embrace with a low cry that told him all he needed to know. He heaved a great sigh as his arms closed around her shoulders, aware of Jack's suddenly stony countenance as he watched them.  
  
'Oh, I've missed you, Fitz,' Marin cried, burying her face in his old coat to hide the joyful tears she had shed on seeing her friend again.  
  
Jack let out a short crack of laughter as Elias drew back from her sharply, his expression one of incredulous good humour.  
  
'Fitz?' he asked, his eyebrows raised in feigned shock, smiling as she glanced at Jack and her cheeks darkened in a guilty flush. He laughed. 'Aye, 'tis good to have ye back, lass.'  
  
Marin grinned, turning away from him to the men who had gathered nearby, each anxious to add his own greeting to that of their captain. Jack slipped to his side as she disappeared into their midst.  
  
'Good voyage, Jack lad?' Elias asked him, careful to avoid any hint of suggestion in his light tone.  
  
'Fair, mate, fair,' Jack said airily, reaching into his pocket for the trinket Marin had entrusted to him as they climbed into the rowboat. 'Yours, I believe.'  
  
Elias' fingers closed on the locket with something akin to relief, his thumb running over the embossed rings to ascertain by touch alone that it was, indeed, his. Satisfied, he grinned.  
  
'Aye, that it is,' he agreed. 'Many thanks, Jack lad.'  
  
'And all debts are paid,' Jack muttered, his eyes on Marin where she stood among her friends, talking animatedly with them. Elias watched him for a moment, seeing all the signs of a man trying to deny the truth, even to himself.  
  
'Now, what do ye say to a tot of good rum, and ye can be telling me of all yer adventures on the high seas?' he suggested, fighting to hide his smile as Jack tore his gaze from Marin's smiling face. He eyed his old mentor.  
  
'Just like the old days, eh, mate?' Jack asked, his tone wary as he regarded the old captain.  
  
Elias smiled faintly, hearing what had not been said.  
  
'Nay, lad, we can never go back to those days,' he said, a little regretfully. 'But will ye join me as a friend, Jack lad? I'm in sore need of good company.'  
  
The same regret that coloured his tone illuminated Jack's eyes for a moment as he held Elias' gaze steadily. The familiar grin broke across his face, and both men felt the air clear between them. All past transgressions were forgiven in that one moment of complete understanding.  
  
'Of course you need good company, mate,' Jack laughed, slapping the older man's shoulder companionably. 'You've not drunk with me in a long time.'  
  
He paused.  
  
'As long as you don't keep to just the one tot,' he amended.  
  
Elias roared with laughter.  
  
'Now would I do that to ye, lad?'  
  
They glanced over at Will and Elizabeth, still engrossed in one another where they stood by the boats.  
  
'Put her down, Will, you don't know where she's been,' Jack called to them, thoroughly disgusted at their lovesick behaviour. 'And that goes for you too, Elizabeth love.'  
  
As they moved to join them, laughing at his expression, he caught Marin watching them, her eyes wistful, and wondered who she was thinking of. It had crossed his mind more than once that such a lovely girl should have a man waiting for her somewhere, and no doubt her thoughts were on that lucky someone as she watched Will and Elizabeth. As soon as the thought entered his mind, he pushed it out, not prepared to face head on the fact that he would probably never occupy that place in her heart. Elias' hand clamped down onto his shoulder, jolting him back to reality.  
  
Will felt Elizabeth's eyes on him as they followed the pirates into the port, her expression inquisitive. He grinned down at her, laying a gentle finger on her lips to still the inevitable questions.  
  
'I'll tell you later,' he promised, drawing her beneath his arm as they walked through the crowded streets. Nodding, Elizabeth pressed herself closer to him, happy to set questions aside until later, overjoyed to have her beloved Will back by her side once again. 


	10. Too Many Secrets And Promises

The candlelight played softly on Elizabeth's skin, highlighting her beauty in golden light. Will lay beside her, drinking in every detail of her appearance, not quite able to believe that he had her back again. His arm curled possessively around her swollen belly, and he smiled as the baby within his wife's womb kicked at the restraining limb.  
  
Elizabeth stirred, laying her hand atop his as she opened her eyes to gaze lovingly into his. He leant down to kiss her, caught up in the tender moment that passed between them. Her smile was balm to his aching heart, soothing the guilt he felt at not having been there with her throughout her pregnancy.  
  
There was a crash from below their window, and they heard clearly the sound of Captain Jack Sparrow stumbling out onto the street, obviously staggering off to find another tavern for the evening.  
  
'Alright, alright, I'm going, savvy?' he bawled at whoever was bothering him.  
  
Elizabeth winced as one of the bar wenches from below answered him, in a particularly strident voice.  
  
'Don't you dare try to talk so familiar with me, Jack Sparrow!'  
  
'Captain, it's Captain Jack Sparrow, and my comment's weren't aimed at you, love,' he called across the street. 'Savvy?'  
  
'Yes?' she answered.  
  
Will looked at Elizabeth's wide smile in confusion. She laid a finger against his lips, listening to the confrontation below them.  
  
'What?' Jack had replied to the woman, obviously slightly confused himself.  
  
They heard the sound of footsteps on the cobbles, and then the barmaid's voice again.  
  
'Don't you remember me, Jack Sparrow? Savy?'  
  
Will blinked. There was something different about the way she said the word, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Elizabeth was giggling quietly beside him.  
  
'Savvy?' Jack said, apparently searching for a name.  
  
'You might remember me as Savannah,' she told him, her tone acid.  
  
There was a pause, and Will could almost see the look of bemused concentration on Jack's face as he tried to remember who the woman was.  
  
'Savy, darling,' they heard him say, switching on the charm with ease. 'Where have you been these past few months?'  
  
Silence was his answer, until the sharp crack of hand against cheek echoed through the night air. As the sound of his boots faded into the distance, the couple shared a grin, each reflecting on their somewhat bizarre relationship with the irascible pirate.  
  
'When were you going to tell me what's going on between Marin and Jack?' Elizabeth murmured, having just realised that Will had managed to avoid this subject when they were talking before.  
  
Will grinned impishly.  
  
'Can't you see it, 'Beth?' he asked her. 'He's falling for her, and she's not completely immune to him either.'  
  
Elizabeth's smiled was wry.  
  
'I find it hard to believe that Jack Sparrow would let himself fall for anyone,' she said dryly. 'How can you tell?'  
  
'It's so obvious, 'Beth,' Will told her, amused by her refusal to admit the truth. 'You can see it in the way he looks at her, you can hear it when he talks.'  
  
She frowned.  
  
'What do you mean?'  
  
'He looks at her the way he looks at the Black Pearl,' he murmured, watching as surprised comprehension began to dawn on his wife's face. 'When he calls her love, it sounds so much more intimate than for anyone else. He's always near her, or watching her.'  
  
'And when their eyes meet, it takes a few moments for them to look away,' Elizabeth mused, her tone thoughtful as she gazed into her husband's eyes. 'What of Marin?'  
  
At this, Will's smile turned gentle. He had grown fond of Marin over the weeks he had sailed with her, somehow giving her the place of younger sister in his heart. He had no wish to see her hurt by Jack Sparrow's refusal to admit his own feelings.  
  
'She's fallen,' he told her, 'hard. Her eyes light up when he walks into a room, she seems to have difficulty breathing when he's around. He infuriates her, but she can't bring herself to dislike him. And, of course, she's in complete denial that she feels anything for him.'  
  
Elizabeth rolled her eyes in exasperation. She trusted Will's judgement, knowing he would never tell her anything of which he wasn't absolutely certain. She did have a tendency to get overexcited, especially if what he told her had something to do with her friends, as this did. Her eyes narrowed in thought.  
  
'I know that look, Elizabeth Turner,' Will said, his tone wary. 'What are you planning?'  
  
She smiled mischievously.  
  
'If they're not prepared to admit how they feel about one another, then we'll just have to give them time to come to terms with it, then won't we?'  
  
Will sighed wearily, lying back against the pillows as she nestled closer against him.  
  
'And how do you propose we do that, 'Beth?' he asked her.  
  
'I'll think of something,' she promised, a huge yawn breaking into her speech. 'You just have to talk to Jack.'  
  
Will exchanged a look with the candle by the bed as his wife settled down to sleep against his chest. Talk to Jack? It would be easier to resurrect Barbossa than get Jack to talk about his feelings. A tiny foot connected with his ribs, making him jump in fright. Elizabeth laughed sleepily. Oh, well, Will thought, leaning across to extinguish the candle. At least it was a challenge.  
  
*~*~*  
  
In his cabin in the stern of the Red Dragon, an old sea captain was examining a piece of parchment, turning his newly returned locket over and over in his hand.  
  
'Four,' he muttered to himself. 'But where's the fourth?'  
  
There was a knock at the door, and he hurriedly replaced both parchment and locket within his coat.  
  
'Yes?' he called, leaning back in his chair.  
  
'It's Marin,' came the voice on the other side of the cracked wood. 'I need to talk to you.'  
  
Elias frowned in sudden concern. It wasn't like Marin to actively seek him out to talk. She was a master at slipping important snippets into everyday conversation.  
  
'Come in, lass, it's not locked.'  
  
The door opened quietly, and Marin slipped in, her face thoughtful. She smiled faintly at him as she took a seat, but it was clear that something was bothering her. Elias leant forward, across the table, to take her hand in his.  
  
'What is it that troubles ye, lass?' he asked, a softness in his voice that no other had ever heard.  
  
'Just some things that I've heard and seen,' she said quietly. 'I don't understand them, and it's making it hard for me to think clearly.'  
  
Elias nodded slowly, waiting for her to begin, for undoubtedly she had questions.  
  
'Why are our lockets so similar?' she asked, and he felt a sudden cold constrict his heart.  
  
He could not tell her, bound by blood and duty to keep to his code, but how could he explain that to his young companion? He would have to lie to her, and yet she would not forgive him lightly when the truth would be told.  
  
'I have no idea,' he lied easily, his gaze steady on hers. 'I was intrigued by it when ye were younger, but I just passed it off as coincidence. Such things do happen, ye know.'  
  
Marin nodded, agreeing with him.  
  
'But, is it still coincidence if I came across another such locket?'  
  
Elias kept his face carefully blank, pretending surprise like a master.  
  
'Another, lass?' he asked. 'And where might ye have seen this other?'  
  
Marin couldn't meet his eyes.  
  
'Around Danielson's neck,' she muttered.  
  
Elias withdrew his hand from hers, frowning in shock and anger at the young woman.  
  
'And how came it to be that ye were so close to the scum that ye could see his personal effects?'  
  
Marin winced. His tone was cold, and she could feel the anger beneath his words.  
  
'Because . . . because I went on board with Jack when he rescued Will,' she told him. 'But it wasn't his fault! I . . . I sort of made it impossible for him not to take me.'  
  
Elias regarded her for a moment.  
  
'How, lass?'  
  
She swallowed, feeling guilty that she had somehow set Elias against Jack once again, all with her own stupidity.  
  
'I didn't describe the locket to him,' she murmured. 'He had to take me, don't you see? He didn't have a clue what he was looking for!'  
  
'And ye refused to give him that clue,' Elias said softly. 'Lass, ye're a fool. If any harm had come to ye on that ship, young Will would not have got his lass back, and Jack would now be lying beneath a dock somewhere, dead as a doornail.'  
  
A single tear leaked from her tightly closed eyelids.  
  
'I know,' she whispered. 'And I'm sorry, Elias, truly I am. I never thought that I would be in any danger.'  
  
Elias turned away. The danger that he had feared would fall upon his Marin had come. Danielson would be coming after the both of them, determined to have the lockets. But he would never have the secret, of that Elias was certain.  
  
'Tell me what happened,' he ordered her, and haltingly, she did.  
  
There was only one moment that threw Elias into a deeper despair than ever.  
  
'I pulled away from him, into the lamplight, and he stared at me like he'd seen a ghost,' Marin told him. 'He went pale, and then he said 'So Delaney did have a daughter'. What do you suppose he meant?'  
  
Elias closed his eyes in defeat. He turned back to face her.  
  
'He meant that ye have the look of yer father, lass.'  
  
Marin drew back in shock.  
  
'My father? But . . . my father's dead, you told me that,' she protested.  
  
Elias nodded.  
  
'Aye, that I did,' he admitted. 'What I didn't tell ye was that yer father was a merchant man, and well known among these islands. Owned a whole island himself, he did, and left it to ye in his will. Robert Delaney was a good man, lass, a great friend to me.'  
  
His face darkened in anger as he recalled what had torn the good man from his daughter when she was so young.  
  
'Just after he sent for ye, his ship was attacked by pirates,' he told her, his voice tight with the effort of keeping his temper under control. 'Everyone aboard was killed, and shortly after the same was done to another merchant ship. Except the second time there was a survivor. Ye.'  
  
Tear rolled freely down Marin's cheeks as the horror of her father's death came crashing down on her. With an amazing leap of intuition, she made the connection between the pirates and the lockets.  
  
'It was Danielson, wasn't it?' she said. 'He wanted my father's locket, but he had already sent it to me. That was why he killed my father and sank our ship. Why you didn't want me going anywhere near him.'  
  
'Aye, lass, that's it,' Elias sighed. 'He'll be coming after it, now he knows ye still live. I had hoped he would give it up as lost to Davy Jones' Locker, but now he knows.'  
  
He turned away from her, to gaze out the window at the lights of Tortuga.  
  
'And I have too many secrets and promises to keep before I can tell ye the truth of this tale, lass,' he told her. 'Don't try to make me tell, my bond is held by a force more powerful than ye. All I will say is that we must retrieve Danielson's locket before he retrieves ours, and then set about finding the fourth, wherever it may be.'  
  
Marin nodded, still lost in a sea of disjointed memories and overdue grief for her father's untimely death. It made sense now that Elias had taken her as his own, if he had, indeed, known her father. Bitter resentment boiled within her as she felt her anger grow, all directed at the man who had stolen from her the only family she had ever known. Danielson.  
  
Then the tears came, a tidal wave of emotion that washed over her, making it impossible for her to do anything but give in to it. Somehow she found herself in Elias' arms, as he rocked her to and fro, murmuring softly to her as he had in the aftermath of the battle that had orphaned her.  
  
'Hush, lass, ye're safe with me,' he murmured, stroking her hair gently as she sobbed like a child in his arms.  
  
As he held her close, his hatred of Danielson sharpened to a point. The captain of the Stella Maris had caused his Marin too much pain, too many times. He would pay for the heartache his selfish actions had caused to a heart too young to understand.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Hey there! Sorry, no author's notes this time . . . . job hunting is such a bore isn't it? But I hope two chapters makes up for the lack of skit. Read and review, you guys! I love you all! 


	11. Pity The Fools

The sun rose bright over Tortuga the next morning, rousing many earlier than they would have liked. As men staggered from their homes, ready to begin another day, Will Turner made his way down to the dock, hoping to get a boat out to the Black Pearl. As he approached the quay, it soon became clear that he wouldn't need to.  
  
Captain Jack Sparrow was peering through his telescope, out across the harbour, towards the great ships anchored in the bay. Will followed the line of the telescope and grinned triumphantly. Jack wasn't checking on his own ship, but perusing the decks of the Red Dragon.  
  
'I don't think she's up yet,' Will said loudly, right into Jack's ear, making the normally cool pirate leap to one side in shock, his sabre whistling from its sheath.  
  
'Bloody hell! Mate, never sneak up on a pirate, it's bad for your continued health,' Jack told him, obviously rattled.  
  
Will laughed.  
  
'I didn't sneak, you were too engrossed in the Dragon to notice me,' he defended himself, 'and like I said, she's probably not up yet.'  
  
Jack drew in a deep breath to calm himself, sheathing his sword smoothly.  
  
'Who?' he inquired, his voice level and steady.  
  
'Marin,' Will said simply.  
  
Not a flicker crossed Jack's face.  
  
'Why would I want to know if Marin is up yet?' he asked, returning his telescope to his belt.  
  
'Oh, I don't know, Jack,' Will rejoined, his tone identical to that of his friend. 'Maybe so you can continue to gaze at her wistfully from a distance?'  
  
Jack was indignant in the extreme, turning fully to face the younger man in a frenzy of emotion.  
  
'I do not gaze wistfully at anyone,' he insisted. 'I'm Captain Jack Sparrow.'  
  
Will's eyebrows rose.  
  
'And what does that mean in this situation?'  
  
Jack slumped, rolling his eyes.  
  
'Captain Jack Sparrow does not gaze wistfully,' he said calmly. 'I'm known for it. You've seen the women here, would I be slapped that much if I could gaze wistfully?'  
  
Will laughed. Jack regarded him for a moment and joined in, turning back to look out across the bay with his friend at his side.  
  
'How's Elizabeth this fine morning?'  
  
'Still asleep,' Will told him, a soft smile on his face for the memory of how he had left her. 'She's determined to have the baby in Port Royale.'  
  
Jack snorted quietly, watching as the Dryad came about and began to head for the open sea once more. Will turned to him.  
  
'Jack, you don't have to sail us to Port Royale,' he said, his tone one of concern for his friend. 'I'm sure Captain Fitzpatrick wouldn't mind taking us back.'  
  
'And why should I not be the one to see you safely home, mate?' Jack asked quietly, sounding hurt.  
  
Will winced. He hadn't meant to offend his friend.  
  
'Well, you are a wanted man, Jack,' he said wretchedly. 'And Commodore Norrington is determined to hang you someday. Look, all I'm saying is that one day you're not going to get away. I'd rather that wasn't because of us.'  
  
An amused smile lit up the older man's face. He understood that Will was trying to protect him, but he had no idea why. Still, he supposed, this must be one of the reasons he called them friends.  
  
'I know, mate, but you're forgetting one very important thing,' he said cheerfully. 'I'm -'  
  
'- Captain Jack Sparrow, yes, of course,' Will finished for him, shaking his head with a smile for his friend's stubbornness.  
  
'And don't you forget it, mate.'  
  
With almost identical smiles of deep seated amusement, the two men turned back to their contemplation of the bay, watching as a longboat shoved off from the Dragon. Will yawned widely, the early morning not what he was used to anymore.  
  
'So what is this past between you and Captain Fitzpatrick?' he asked his companion. 'You seem to know one another fairly well.'  
  
Jack chuckled quietly.  
  
'Yeah, you could say that, mate,' he agreed. 'He was my teacher when I first became a pirate. Taught me almost everything I know.'  
  
Will frowned, seeing the fond smile that betrayed a good memory in the mind of Jack Sparrow.  
  
'What happened?' he asked curiously.  
  
'The Black Pearl happened, mate,' Jack told him. 'I was determined to have her, but old Fitz wasn't prepared to put his crew in danger on a whim of mine. Tried to have me thrown in the brig. Didn't work, though. I left him a dagger in his ribs as payment for the years of work he put into me. Not my finest hour, savvy?'  
  
Will nodded, understanding now the light and shade of each conversation he had witnessed between the two men. Jack sighed, frowning as he peered at the passengers on the little longboat as it made its way across the bay.  
  
'Why are they coming back on shore?' he muttered to himself.  
  
Will, too, peered out across the water to the little boat, and felt a smile curve his lips. Elias Fitzpatrick and Marin were both sat snug in the stern, chatting together as they made their way to the dock. He wondered what they were up to. Glancing sideways, he saw Jack's eyes once again fixed on Marin, his expression so much softer than Will had ever seen it before.  
  
'There's no shame in it, you know,' he said softly.  
  
This time, Jack didn't even try to deny it.  
  
'Not for me, maybe,' he murmured. 'But she deserves better than what I can give her. Far better.'  
  
'What if all she wants is what you can give her?' Will asked, his voice still gentle and undemanding. 'What would you do?'  
  
Jack sighed.  
  
'I have no idea, mate.'  
  
Will reached across, his fingers grasping Jack's shoulder through his worn leather coat. The older man seemed so dejected, determined that he would rather live alone, in the knowledge that the one woman he loved was living with someone else, than have what Marin would so willingly give him.  
  
Jack coughed, straightening up and throwing Will's hand from his shoulder. He nodded to his friend.  
  
'Well, I have things that need doing, so I'll be seeing you around, no doubt,' he said, already walking away. 'Greetings to all.'  
  
Will watched him walk briskly back up into the town, his mind racing with the possible consequences of that conversation. There was a thump against the dock behind him, and he turned to see the Dragon's longboat off-loading her passengers. Marin grinned up at him as she and her captain made their way to his side.  
  
'Morning, Will,' she called. 'Is Elizabeth about?'  
  
He laughed.  
  
'You can check if you want,' he told her. 'Be wary of flying crockery this early though.'  
  
As Elias winced, obviously having been on the receiving end of such aerial objects at some point, Marin laughed, turning away to walk the same route Jack had done only moments before, up into the town of Tortuga.  
  
'Young Jack refusing to admit to any feeling that has to do with me Marin still, or was that hasty exit because ye pried something out he doesn't want known?' Elias mused quietly, watching his young companion into the shadow of the houses.  
  
Will smiled.  
  
'You're too sharp for your own good, sir,' he muttered. 'Come up to the inn, I'm sure they'll have something for you there.'  
  
Elias laughed warmly, letting himself be drawn forwards.  
  
'Of that I have no doubt, Will.'  
  
*~*~*  
  
When they reached the inn, Elizabeth was already downstairs, Marin by her side, as they tucked in to an enormous breakfast that seemed to have appeared from nowhere. Will certainly hadn't seen anyone about all morning. The two women were talking cheerfully, and the men took seats not far from them, ostensibly because they couldn't stand to be too far apart, but more because they wanted to eavesdrop on the conversation.  
  
'Isn't this a little dishonest?' Will asked softly.  
  
Elias gave him a long look.  
  
'Pirate,' he said, as if that would explain everything.  
  
Will grinned. Now he knew where Jack had got that from, as well. He let his ears re-attune themselves to Elizabeth's voice as she chatted with Marin freely.  
  
'He kissed you?' she asked incredulously.  
  
Marin rolled her eyes.  
  
'Well, no, not exactly,' she said wretchedly. 'He was going to, but we were sort of interrupted by the storm.'  
  
Elizabeth frowned.  
  
'How?'  
  
'A rather large wave decided to make an appearance on deck,' Marin told her, graciously ignoring the snort of laughter that comment produced from her friend. 'He sent me below.'  
  
Elizabeth's expression was nothing short of suggestive.  
  
'Oh really?' she asked, looking the younger girl up and down.  
  
Marin blushed.  
  
'Not like that!' she protested. 'I swear, Elizabeth, you have the filthiest mind I have ever come across.'  
  
Elizabeth laughed at her, thoroughly enjoying this opportunity to tease a pirate.  
  
'And has he tried anything else?'  
  
'No, nothing else,' came the rather subdued answer.  
  
'I get the feeling you wouldn't be adverse to him trying again,' Elizabeth murmured, watching as Marin's cheeks darkened in a second flush of crimson.  
  
'Well, if I were completely honest with myself, no, I wouldn't mind,' Marin admitted, staring steadfastly at her hands. 'But I don't know what's happening to me, Elizabeth. It doesn't feel like a fleeting thing, but how would I know?'  
  
Her companion smiled, laying a gentle hand over hers.  
  
'How do you feel?' she asked.  
  
Marin sighed gustily.  
  
'I don't know, there's no real way to describe it,' she said softly. 'It's like the world comes alive when he's near me, like I could quite happily drown in his eyes. Everything he says or does affects me in some way. Like this morning, when he walked away from the dock as we pulled alongside, that hurt . . . here.'  
  
Her hand touched her heart, and Will could hear the pain in her voice as she replayed that moment over in her mind. He glanced at Elias. The old captain's face was unreadable as he listened, and Will got the impression that he knew already of both Jack and Marin's feelings.  
  
'Is that love, Elizabeth?' Marin asked, sounding small and alone, almost frightened.  
  
Elizabeth smiled gently at her young friend.  
  
'It could be, Marin,' she said, her eyes understanding as she looked on the confused girl. 'But love is different for everyone. You have to take it each day at a time.'  
  
Will could hear the tears beneath the surface as Marin spoke again.  
  
'He'll never need me,' she whispered. 'He has the Pearl, and the open seas. What does he need a woman for?'  
  
Elizabeth's smile widened.  
  
'Oh, I could think of any number of things,' she said impishly.  
  
Marin looked up at her mischievous smile, and laughed.  
  
'You're incorrigible!' she exclaimed. 'I hope that baby takes after Will. Who knows how it will turn out if it has your sense of humour!'  
  
Elizabeth gasped indignantly, slapping her friend's arm lightly with a smile.  
  
'Oh, actually, since you've brought it up, I have a favour to ask you,' she said suddenly, surprising Will, who had not heard any of this.  
  
'Ask away,' Marin said, her voice once again light and happy.  
  
'Well, I have very few female friends and I don't particularly want to be surrounded by squeamish women when I give birth, so I was wondering if you would come with us to Port Royale and stay until after my baby is born?'  
  
There was an excited squeal, and Will turned to see the two women embracing warmly.  
  
'I would love to, Elizabeth, of course I would,' Marin exclaimed. 'I'd have to ask Elias first, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind.'  
  
'Of course I wouldn't mind, lass,' Elias butted in, turning to grin at the startled pair.  
  
Will rolled his eyes in consternation, appalled at the pirate's apparent pleasure at being caught eavesdropping. Elias glanced at his guilty expression, giving a crack of laughter as he continued,  
  
'As long as the invitation to Port Royale is extended to meself and me crew.'  
  
Elizabeth's smile was just short of gloating.  
  
'Of course, Captain Fitzpatrick,' she agreed, catching Will's eye and beaming.  
  
He sighed. It would appear that Elizabeth had already set her plan to push Marin and Jack together in motion. Pity the fools, he thought.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Sorry about the wait, guys . . . . inspiration is a bit thin on the ground at the mo, as you can tell by this 'nothing-really-happened' chapter. But I am working on the next chapter! Honest I am!  
  
If any of you wanna get in touch, you know, to chat or ask me why I'm so strange, feel free to email me! I don't bite! Be well, guys! 


	12. The Less Refined Ways Of Pirates

The carriage bumped uncomfortably along the dusty track up to Governor's House, jostling its inhabitant back and forth with the violence he had grown accustomed to over the years. Of course, Governor Swann had grown used to the violence of the carriage with his daughter beside him, both willing to grin and bear it, but somehow this familiar journey was made worse without her wry comments and cheerful smile.  
  
He sighed wearily. Of course he was happy that Elizabeth had chosen to follow her heart in marrying Will Turner, though he would have preferred Commodore Norrington for a son-in-law. There had always been something about Will that hadn't rung true, as if he were denying what he truly was, even to himself. Then there had been that ghastly affair with the undead pirates, and the boy's true heritage had been revealed. Admittedly, he seemed far more at ease with himself since taking up a life on the sea, but still, it irked the governor to be associated with piracy.  
  
He glanced out of the window at the large house that was his home, frowning in alarm at the sight of so many lights lit within. Now it was just himself, living alone in the old building, he had felt the need to dismiss all but the manservant, Jonathan ,who had seen to his needs adequately since Elizabeth had left. So the only lamps lit should be those in his bedroom, and the hallway outside.  
  
The carriage rolled to a halt, throwing the old man back against his seat with such force that he had to readjust his wig before stepping down, dismissing the men with an imperious wave of his hand. He scarcely heard the obligatory mutter expletives as they rumbled away, more concerned with the movement within his house.  
  
There were several people within, all quite at their ease, it seemed. He felt a swift surge of anger. How dare whoever it was come into his home when he was away and make themselves so comfortable? It was insulting to say the least. Governor Swann steeled himself to give them a swift exit, and strode up to his own front door.  
  
Jonathan was waiting just inside, his face a mask of horror at the expression on his master's face.  
  
'There was nothing I could do, sir, they just barged right in and said they were prepared to wait for you as long as it took,' he whispered, his tone one of terror. 'Miss Elizabeth's with them, sir.'  
  
The anger flew from the governor's mind at this, replaced with joy at the thought of seeing his beloved daughter again. The others must be members of Will's crew, he decided, though he had not seen the Lady Swan in the harbour. Their company must be tolerated, if only for Elizabeth's sake.  
  
'There's no need to be afraid, Jonathan,' he said briskly. 'Where are they?'  
  
Jonathan nodded to him, unconvinced by his master's display of confidence.  
  
'The drawing room, sir.'  
  
Governor Swann thanked the frightened man, and moved towards the drawing room door. He stepped inside, and was immediately accosted by his daughter as she flung herself into his arms with a joyful cry. He held her tightly, not having realised until now how much he'd missed her. The swell of her pregnant belly pressed into him, filling him with unexpected wonder and joy at the thought of a grandchild.  
  
Elizabeth pulled back to plant a gentle kiss on his cheek, and it was only then that he became aware of the others in the room. Will nodded to him from where he was draped across an armchair, a huge grin on his face for the expression of utter astonishment on his father-in-law's face.  
  
But it was not the sight of his daughter's husband that gave the governor pause. No, it was the man sat to his right, a visage all too familiar to the governor of Port Royale.  
  
'Evening, mate,' Jack said cheerfully, raising his glass to the frozen man.  
  
'Mr Sparrow, I would not have thought to see you back in Port Royale for at least another month,' Swann said acidly. 'I should have you arrested for this -'  
  
There was a cough from the window, where the remaining two figures stood together, laughing quietly at the scene. The governor felt his jaw drop. No one in the Caribbean could mistake Elias Fitzpatrick for what he was, one of the most feared pirated on the seas.  
  
'If ye be wanting to arrest young Jack there, ye'll first have to get through me,' Elias said pleasantly. 'And I have no fear that me crew would have a word to say about that.'  
  
The girl by his side slapped his arm lightly.  
  
'You've no right to go making threats, cap'n,' she scolded him gently, turning to the governor with a smile. 'My apologies, governor, for the captain's ill manners.'  
  
Feeling slightly numb, Swann felt himself shake his head, raising a hand to forestall her apology.  
  
'No need to apologise, young lady,' he heard himself assure her. 'I am well used to the less refined ways of pirates.'  
  
At this, he saw her glance at Jack, who had the decency to look abashed for a moment before taking a sip of what looked like the governor's best brandy and leaning back with a wide smile. Seeing her father's suddenly stony countenance, Elizabeth drew him out into the hall, away from Jack's mocking gaze.  
  
'What is going on, Elizabeth?' he demanded, foregoing his joy on seeing her in favour of anger at the piratical invasion of his home.  
  
She fixed him with a no-nonsense stare.  
  
'I invited them,' she said simply. 'You did say this would always be my home, and you've never objected to my bringing friends home before.'  
  
He flushed a deep blotchy red as he fought to keep his temper from boiling over.  
  
'Your friends have never had such lurid reputations before!' he hissed in fury. 'There are only two people whom I would even speak to, let alone share my home with!'  
  
'Two?' Elizabeth sounded surprised. 'Aside from Will, who's the other one?'  
  
'That young woman with the impeccable manners,' he said, sounding confused.  
  
Elizabeth did her best to keep her sudden laughter under control, but a few stray giggles did escape.  
  
'Whatever is the matter, Elizabeth?' her father asked her, alarmed by the coughing fit that seemed to have overtaken his daughter.  
  
'Nothing,' she spluttered, unable to hide her smile any longer. 'It's just that she's as much of a pirate as the others are!'  
  
He waited patiently for her to regain her composure, watching as she drew a thin veneer of control over her almost hysterical giggles. With a sigh, he glanced into the drawing room, building himself up to tolerate these pirates' company for as long as they remained.  
  
'Why are they here, Elizabeth?' he asked wearily, too tired to fight her over this.  
  
She smiled softly, one hand on the smooth curve of her bump.  
  
'I'm near my time, father,' she told him. 'And I was determined to have the baby here, in your house. I asked Marin - the girl - to come with me because she's my friend and I want her there. She's part of Elias' crew, and Jack sailed us here, so I could hardly leave them out of this. They're my friends, father.'  
  
'I know, I know,' he conceded. 'And they are welcome in my home for the duration. Just keep them out of sight.'  
  
Elizabeth threw her arms around him once more, embracing him warmly for this sacrifice to his pride and honour for her sake.  
  
'Commodore Norrington will be visiting tomorrow, Elizabeth, so hiding the captains soon would be a good notion,' he told her. 'If the young lady can be persuaded into a dress, she would be safe from his rather zealous attack on all pirates.'  
  
Elizabeth grimaced, imagining the expression on Marin's face when that proposition was put to her.  
  
'I'll try, father,' she promised. 'Marin has strong opinions about that sort of thing.'  
  
'Then convince her to put them on hold for a while,' he said wearily, turning back to the drawing room. 'Now, I suppose I should play host to my guests.'  
  
Elizabeth followed him back into the little room, her mind already at work on just how she was going to persuade Marin into looking respectable.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Elizabeth hurried down the hallway, her face flushed with excitement. She had arranged for the two pirate captains to remain closeted in their rooms for the duration of the commodore's visit, though neither had been too thrilled about the idea. But since they were not to be seen, they joined her in forcing Marin into a dress.  
  
Once she'd been convinced that it was the only possible option, Elias had pounced, removing all the weapons he could find rather forcefully, on the grounds that, if she changed her mind, at least the maids would have a fighting chance. Despite her pleas for someone to help her, everyone had turned a deaf ear, as interested to see the scruffy young woman looking feminine as the each other.  
  
When Elizabeth had slipped in earlier, Marin had been very vocal about her corset, demanding to know why she couldn't just wear the dress without the fancy underwear. Rather than try to argue, Elizabeth had quietly called for Elias to come and persuade his unruly companion to do as she was told. In the face of his stubborn refusal to give even an inch, Marin had subsided, her objections only just audible as Elizabeth left once again.  
  
The two captains leant on the banister outside Marin's room, listening to the intriguing noises coming from behind the door. Elizabeth smiled absently at them as she hurried into the room, the maids bobbing curtseys to her as they all but ran out.  
  
Elias laughed.  
  
'Ah, she's a terror is our Marin,' he said fondly, shaking his head at the expressions of relief that marked the young maids faces.  
  
Jack's eyebrows rose as raised voices filtered out to them from the silent room. There was a short scuffle, followed by a blistering oath and a thud, and all was still once more. Elizabeth emerged triumphantly from the room, Marin's sea boots and dirk clutched in her hands. The two captains exchanged a glance and roared with laughter.  
  
As she hurried back down the hallway, Elias wiped an errant tear from his eye, overcome with mirth at the thought of a demure young lady wearing sea boots and carrying a blade as long as her forearm.  
  
'Come to think of it, I don't believe I've ever seen young Marin dressed up nice,' he mused quietly.  
  
Jack grinned, listening to the muffled monologue going on in the room behind them. It appeared Marin was less than pleased with her transformation.  
  
'Probably comes from trying to raise her like a son, Fitz,' he suggested.  
  
Elias nodded, conceding the point.  
  
'Aye, there's truth in that,' he agreed, turning to face the open door. 'Come out, me lovely, let's take a look at you.'  
  
There was no sound of movement within.  
  
'I look like a china doll,' Marin complained sharply. 'A badly made one, at that.'  
  
Elias glanced at Jack, warning him with a look to keep his laughter in check.  
  
'That's as may be, but are ye going to deny an old man a chance to ye as ye were made to look?' he asked the stubborn girl, not making any moves to go in and get her.  
  
'But -'  
  
'No buts, lovely. Out ye come.'  
  
Grumbling, looking extremely uncomfortable, Marin stepped unsteadily out onto the landing, the look in her eyes daring anyone to comment on her appearance. From the corner of his eye, Elias saw Jack's jaw drop and moved quickly to prevent Marin from seeing the astonished reaction. He stepped forward and kissed her forehead gently.  
  
'Ye'll do,' he told her, his eyes taking in every detail of the exquisitely curled hair, the perfect make-up, and the dress that seemed to cling to every curve, natural or not.  
  
Marin smiled, drawing in a short gasp of breath as she pressed her hands to her midriff. Elias swallowed a smile as he watched her fight for air against the wishes of her corset. Will called down to them, beckoning the captains to join him. Elias nodded up to him, moving deftly away, and left Jack and Marin to stare at one another on the landing.  
  
Their eyes met, and Marin felt a blush rise in her cheeks at the expression on Jack's face. He was gobsmacked, completely blown away by her appearance. Unfortunately, she couldn't linger on his reaction for very long. The combination of the heat and her very first attempt to wear a corset was making it increasingly difficult for her to draw breath.  
  
She stumbled past Jack to grasp the banister, bending in the hopes of relieving at least some of the pressure on her lungs. He watched her for a few moments, unsure of his reception if he offered any help.  
  
'You alright there, love?' he ventured, his words laced with rather more concern than he had intended.  
  
Marin gasped in a series of tiny breaths before answering, grimacing in pain as dots began to dance before her eyes.  
  
'I . . . I can't . . . br . . . breathe,' she managed, her chest heaving with the effort as she tried to force herself to remain conscious.  
  
Jack's eyes widened as she swayed dangerously, drawing one of the many daggers he had on his person and stepping closer. One arm around her waist too prevent her from falling, he fumbled with the dress lacings, slipping the blade beneath them and slicing carefully through the bottom few crossings of her corset ribbons. Marin drew in a huge shuddering breath, and the corset moved with her lungs, allowing her to regain control of her breathing. As she did so, her knees gave out for a moment, throwing her backwards into Jack's waiting arms.  
  
He held her carefully, trying not to enjoy the sensation of her cradled in his arms, of her hair against his face. Her hands clutched at his arms, but did not push him away as he had expected. Still, he was convinced that she had a young man in some other port, someone who deserved her, and was not about to do anything that might come between them. Her head lolled back onto his shoulder, presenting him with an enticing view of her half closed eyes and inviting lips. She slowly drew her lungs under control, not at all inclined to remove herself from her companion's arms.  
  
On the upper landing, Will and Elias were watching in fascination, very pleased with this turn of events. The door bell rang, and Elizabeth hurried past the couple on the landing to join her father as they greeted the commodore.  
  
Aware that she would be expected below very shortly, Marin stood, albeit reluctantly. She gave Jack a somewhat abashed smile.  
  
'Sorry,' she said softly.  
  
He grinned down at her, in control once more now she was out of his arms.  
  
'Not at all, love,' he assured her, letting his gaze sweep her body swiftly. 'You certainly scrub up well.'  
  
She gave him a flat stare.  
  
'Don't get used to it,' she warned.  
  
He chuckled, glancing up at where Will was motioning for him to join them. Marin followed his gaze, suppressing a surge of jealousy at their luck in not having to dress up for a complete stranger.  
  
'I supposed I should be getting downstairs,' she murmured, unwilling to step away from Jack as he gazed down at her.  
  
He nodded, turning to go up the stairs. As she, too, turned away, he stopped, grasping her hand gently and raising it to his lips. Marin felt a shiver run through her as his lips brushed tenderly across her knuckles, his eyes never leaving hers. He smiled gently at her.  
  
'You look beautiful, love,' he told her, and turned away, hurrying up the stairs before the commodore decided to come looking for this house guest.  
  
Will and Elias restrained their celebrations on his finally saying the right thing to exchanging a wide grin, and quickly separated, allowing Jack to pass unmolested into his room. Marin smiled softly after him and moved to join Elizabeth in the drawing room, unable to shake the feeling that something important had passed between them.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Hey there, hope you liked it! I have a bit of a plea to make, I'm afraid. My beta reader has just dumped me, so I've kinda been left in the lurch. I don't suppose there's any chance that one of you guys might possibly be willing to, you know, beta for me? *hopeful smile* 


	13. That Bloody Norrington

The two captains leant on the balcony railing, looking out across the bay at the sparkling waters of the Caribbean. It had been almost a week since they'd arrived in Port Royale, and not one day had gone by when they had not had to hide because the commodore was visiting.  
  
Elias suspected, though he wouldn't mention it to Jack, that the reason for Commodore Norrington's frequent visit was the intriguing Miss Delaney, who had gone out of her way to behave herself in front of him after Elizabeth had delivered a tongue-lashing the evening of the first day.  
  
He sighed in boredom, leaning back to retrieve his bottle of grog where it lay nearby. Beside him, Jack stared with dull eyes at the headland, where a young couple could just be seen making the most of the afternoon.  
  
'Why did we ever agree to come here, lad?' Elias sighed again, taking a huge gulp of grog.  
  
Jack shrugged.  
  
'You're here because of Marin,' he muttered. 'I dunno why I'm here.'  
  
Elias grinned, watching the tiny figures on the hill with a knowing smile.  
  
'Aye, ye do, lad,' he corrected his friend. 'Yer here fer the same reason I am, though ye'd never admit it.'  
  
Jack didn't grace him with an answer, turning away to take a swig of rum from his own bottle. There was a lengthy pause.  
  
'I suppose you'll be letting her marry her young man soon then?' Jack asked suddenly, staring pointedly at the rum swirling in the bottom of his jar.  
  
'What young man would that be?'  
  
Jack sighed softly.  
  
'The one she thinks about so much,' he murmured, trying to suppress the ache that seemed to rise within him every time he thought of Marin and her young man.  
  
Elias stared at him incredulously for a moment, before giving in to an overwhelming surge of laughter that echoed through the old house. Jack glanced at him irritably, wondering what it was he'd said that was so funny. The older captain was clutching at his sides as his laughter began to fade, dissolving into chuckles as he drew some semblance of calm about himself.  
  
'Whatever gave ye the thought that Marin had a young man?' he asked, unable to mask his incredulity.  
  
Jack fought to hold down on the swell of hope that rose within him, refusing to turn and face his old mentor in case Elias could still read him as well as before.  
  
'She hasn't then?' he pressed, his thoughts and pulse racing.  
  
Elias sighed, forcing himself to calm down completely.  
  
'Nay, lad, Marin ne'er so much as looked at any man in such a manner,' he told the younger man gently. 'Until now, that is.'  
  
Jack frowned.  
  
'Now?' he asked. 'What do you mean?'  
  
Elias shook his head, not prepared to bring his little companion's wrath down on himself should she ever hear that he had told her greatest secret.  
  
'Tis not my place to tell ye, lad,' he said quietly. 'Ye must be asking her yerself, if ye really be wishing to know.'  
  
Jack sighed, shrugging indifferently.  
  
'Where is she anyway?' he asked suddenly. 'While we're cooped up in here?'  
  
The older captain waved his hand dismissively.  
  
'Ah, that high and mighty commodore invited her to take a look around the fort,' he said absently. 'He seems to have taken a fancy to her. Maybe he's that young man ye've been worrying about.'  
  
He watched, from the corner of his eye, as Jack's faced darkened in mute fury. The irascible pirate's knuckles whitened, his hands gripping the balcony rail so tightly they could hear the wood creak in protest.  
  
'Over my dead body,' he muttered, his eyes flashing dangerously.  
  
He could give up Marin to anyone, he knew. Anyone but that bloody Norrington.  
  
*~*~*  
  
The streets of Port Royale seemed almost deserted as Commodore Norrington escorted his young companion through the town on the road to Governor's House. Marin had spent a highly enjoyable afternoon, trying to prevent herself from laughing as the officer gave her a tour of the fort that didn't include areas he thought ladies shouldn't see, such as the cells.  
  
'Forgive me, Miss Delaney,' he said suddenly, turning slightly to look at her. 'Might I be permitted to pose a question?'  
  
Marin smiled. Despite herself, she liked this stiff reserved man, and for all his faults, found him very good company.  
  
'Of course you may, commodore,' she told him, wondering what on earth he could possibly want to know.  
  
'I knew your father, Robert Delaney,' he began, and Marin had to tell herself not to panic, there was no way he knew of her pirate connections. 'He died some nineteen or so years ago, and yet you have only just come to the Caribbean. May I inquire as to why?'  
  
Marin sighed softly, forcing herself to relax.  
  
'There is a simple enough reason, commodore,' she told him, quickly running through the lies Elizabeth had helped her with when it became clear the commodore was interested by her. 'When my father died, it was stated in his will that I should not become landowner of his estates until I came of age. There was no reason for me to be in the Caribbean before then, and since I will be turning twenty-one at around midnight tonight, now seemed the best time to come to Port Royale.'  
  
Norrington smiled down at her, thankfully taken in by her story.  
  
'Then, may I congratulate you on gaining your twenty-first year?' he said softly, bowing slightly as they continued on their way.  
  
He liked this young woman, her unusual mannerisms and accent serving only to heighten her attraction for him. Frequently over the past week, she had come out with highly inappropriate comments as they walked together, seemingly mortified that she had said them but for the amused twinkle in her eye. He could only put this endearing behaviour down to her having been raised among the Irish elite, rather than the cream of British society.  
  
Suddenly she froze, one hand on his arm to still his movement, and glanced around them, her eyes sharp. Somewhat alarmed by her state of tension, Norrington also began to look around, seeing nothing out of place in the shops and houses around them. It was only when Marin threw herself at him, knocking him to one side, that he realised what was happening.  
  
A dagger glanced off the wall where his chest should have been. The two of them stood, each unconsciously mirroring the other, and watched as four burly men slipped from the shadows to stand before them.  
  
Marin suppressed a gasp, recognising them as Danielson's men. She knew exactly what they had come for, acutely aware that her locket felt suddenly large and obtrusive nestled between her shift and corset. The men looked her over, obviously appreciating what they saw.  
  
'Cap'n said you was a pretty piece,' one said, leering down at her in a way that made Marin long to knock his teeth up into his brain. 'Didn't say you was a lady.'  
  
One of his smaller companions laughed, rubbing his hands together.  
  
'Looks like this'll be easier than we thought, eh, lads?'  
  
Marin fought to keep her smile from her face. Thank God for pre- conceptions, she thought. Not even a pirate would find it easy to fight a 'lady'. There was a sharp metallic sound beside her. Norrington had drawn his sword.  
  
'Miss Delaney,' he muttered, moving to stand between her and the pirates. 'Run to the fort and tell them what is happening.'  
  
She shook her head, slipping to his side.  
  
'It's me they're here for.'  
  
Without further preamble, the pirates fell on them, raining blows without mercy. Norrington found it relatively easy to run the first through, though fighting the two who followed proved unpleasant to say the least. He glanced up, shocked to see Marin cornered by the fourth of their attackers, her back hitting the wall as she ran out of options. Just as he prepared to run to her rescue, a fist connected with his chin, throwing his backwards against the wall, and he felt the cold steel of a sabre penetrate his guard, cutting into his abdomen with a cruel twist.  
  
Helpless, he crumpled to the cobbles, unable to do anything but watch in horror as the three remaining pirates surrounded the defenceless young woman. Something was said between them, he couldn't hear what, as the largest of the men reached for her bodice. Norrington could look away, desperately hoping for rescue, a patrol to come by, and so witnessed the next few moments with startling clarity.  
  
Marin brought her knee up hard, slipping under the pirate's arm and slamming his head against the stone wall as she wrenched his sabre from its sheath. His dagger dragged across her arm as he fell with a thud, out for the count. Stifling a sharp cry for fear of alerting others of Danielson's crew who could be nearby, Marin backed up, testing the weight and balance of the blade she held in her hand. With precision that can only come from years of practise, she fell on the other two, aware that their strength was no match for her agility. Still, a lucky blow from the smaller of the two sent her reeling backwards into a wall, sliding down as she forced her eyes to focus, blood trickling from her mouth.  
  
Norrington watched in fascination as she drew her skirt up over her knees, revealing sea boots that appeared well lived-in, and withdrew from one of them a blade as long as her forearm. Her hand was a blur of movement, another pirate falling, the dirk buried in his throat. As the last turned to stare in horror at his fallen companions, Marin threw herself at him, knocking his sabre from his hand as she grappled him to the cobbles. They struggled for a long moment, before she got a good enough grip on his head to slam it down onto the unyielding stone. He gave a groan, and slumped, unconscious.  
  
Breathing heavily, her wounds trickling warm blood across her skin, Marin knelt beside the fallen commodore, tearing open his coat and shirt to ascertain the extent of his wound. She drew the blood stained cloth from the gash gently, ignoring him as he stared at her. Ripping at her skirt, she padded the wound, holding the rich cloth tight against his side to stem the blood flow. Needing something to secure her makeshift bandage with, she tugged at his cravat, pulling the length of cloth free, and froze in shock.  
  
Around his neck hung a silver locket, of a size unusual in such well-made pieces. The interlocking rings gleamed in the afternoon sunlight, the lower right one embossed with a faint chain. Without thinking, she reached out to touch the smooth metal in fascination. Norrington's hand grasped her wrist tightly, keeping her fingers from the trinket. He glared up at her with pain-filled eyes.  
  
'You . . . you're a pirate,' he gasped, hissing as she secured the pad against him with his own cravat.  
  
'Aye, that I am,' she told him, unconsciously lapsing into Elias' speech patterns. 'And I'll thank you to note that I've just saved your life.'  
  
With something akin to a bitter chuckle, Norrington subsided, allowing her to pull him to his feet, now unafraid to lean on her. They made their slow way back to the fort, both fully aware of the reason for the deserted streets. If the townspeople were aware that Danielson's men were about, then who could blame them for staying indoors?  
  
The men on duty spotted them as they staggered out from the shadows of the houses, running forward to relieve her of Norrington's sagging body. The fort became a sudden flurry of movement, in the midst of which a call could be heard for the surgeon. Marin leant heavily against the wall, glad to be overlooked as she drew in her strength for the walk up to Governor's House.  
  
As the soldiers filed out to search the town for the pirates, a familiar figure slipped along the wall to her side.  
  
'What happened, lass?'  
  
Marin looked up into Gibbs' concerned features and had to fight to keep from weeping in relief.  
  
'Danielson's men jumped us,' she told him shortly.  
  
His frown deepened as he looked over her, noting the bloodstains that decorated her tattered dress. He lifted her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes.  
  
'Not all that is his, is it, lass?' he asked sternly.  
  
Wearily, she shook her head, feeling her strength begin to seep from her limbs. Gibbs caught her gently as she swayed, lifting the injured young woman into his arms and making his way out through the gate with her cradled against him. There would be hell to pay for this, he decided, even if Jack didn't try for revenge.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Heya! Still no beta, so I apologise if this chapter was simply dreadful, though jackfan2 inspired me with her review of the last one. Thanks, love!  
  
Well, I'm all out of inspiration again. I have a plot and I know where I want to go, I just don't know how to get there. Sound familiar to anyone? Suggestions are most welcome. *points to the little blue button* You know what to do . . . 


	14. Don't Leave Me

Marin struggled unsuccessfully in Gibbs' arms as the burly sailor staggered along the road from the town to Governor's House. She wasn't that badly injured, she knew, in spite of the excess of blood that coated her limbs. However, they were both all too aware of the risk that Danielson's men would be out looking for her, despite the soldiers searching the town.  
  
'Put me down, Mr Gibbs,' she protested, batting helplessly at his hands. 'I am quite capable of carrying my own weight.'  
  
In response to her ceaseless struggling, Gibbs simply tightened his grip on her, his eyes fixed on the lights ahead that told him he was approaching the old house where Jack and Elias waited. He refused to relinquish her, knowing that he had set himself the task of protecting her until she was once again in Jack's range of sight. His captain would not be too pleased to see the mess Danielson's crew had made of his lass, make no mistake.  
  
'Miss Marin, you be injured,' he said calmly, as though talking to an irate child. He didn't even shorten his stride as she flailed her hands in his face. 'And we both know I can make a better turn of speed with you in me arms than with you hobbling along beside me.'  
  
'I was not hobbling!' Marin hissed indignantly, loath to raise her voice in case they were being followed. The wayside hid all kinds of dangers for them as they drew further away from the town.  
  
'He's heavier than he looks,' she added softly, some of the fire gone out of her voice as her arm began to throb in dull pain.  
  
Gibbs nodded knowledgeably, ignoring her excuses as he took the fork that led up to the refuge he sought.  
  
'Well, you were doing a good impression of it,' he said soothingly. 'Doing it to put them off, were you?'  
  
She glared at him, aware that he was teasing her in his own way.  
  
'I am just as capable of carrying your weight as you are, lass, so there be an end to it,' he said firmly, his tone suggesting that he had had enough of this argument.  
  
Marin subsided, sensing she had tested his patience as far as it would go without his temper flaring up. If she was completely honest with herself, she had to admit he was right. In her current state, she was more than a bit of a liability. Her ankle was sticky with blood from a deep cut she had obtained during the struggle, doing its best to outdo her arm in the appliance of pain, though blood was still seeping from the gash across her arm.  
  
Unfortunately her attire wasn't lending to her comfort in the slightest. Setting aside the fact that she was distinctly uncomfortable in a dress anyway, Marin was in a deal of discomfort due to her somewhat restrictive underwear. Corsets were not designed to sit down in, let alone allow their wearer to be carried, and the whalebone ribs were digging painfully into her hips. There was a breeze blowing into her boot where her dirk should have been, setting her to muttering angrily at herself over having left it behind.  
  
Elias was not going to be happy, she knew, stifling a groan at the thought of his reaction. She could see years of being escorted everywhere under armed guard looming ahead of her. Her guardian was as likely to blame Norrington as Danielson for her injuries, and she couldn't see him paying her objections any mind if he decided to teach her newest friend a lesson he definitely wouldn't forget.  
  
She felt Gibbs tense suddenly, slowing as he peered into the twilight ahead of them. There was a figure moving through the greenery at the side of the road, not quite hidden from them as they watched it approach. He lowered Marin gently to the ground beside him, one arm about the girl's waist as she shifted her weight onto her uninjured ankle. Glancing up at him, she encouraged the burly seaman to keep walking, watching the silent figure from the corner of her eye.  
  
It froze on seeing them, stepping out into the road to approach the two in plain sight. Jack spread his hands in a peaceful gesture, his eyes drawn instantly to Marin's battered appearance. Gibbs felt her relax completely, seeing the tension on her face drain away as she looked up at his captain.  
  
'Jack!' she cried, throwing herself forward into his arms and clutching tightly to his shirt.  
  
Alarmed, Jack wrapped his arms about her, taking in the blood-stained dress and frightened tears rolling down her cheeks.  
  
'Shh, love, come on, Jack's here,' he murmured to her, throwing an angry glance at his first mate.  
  
Gibbs shrugged, knowing his captain's temper would find the deserving recipient of his anger soon enough. Marin sagged against Jack, grateful that he had chosen now to go for a walk as his arms drew her close, keeping her from crumpling to the ground in a sobbing heap. She didn't know where the tears had come from, putting it down to relief at seeing someone she knew would be able to prevent Danielson's men from hurting her again.  
  
Jack gently wiped her tears away, cradling her jaw tenderly in his hand as he looked into her eyes with concern.  
  
'What happened, love?' he asked her softly, aware that Gibbs was on edge, staring into the encroaching darkness with no little hostility.  
  
Marin forced herself to calm down, leaning into the gentle touch as his fingers caressed her temple.  
  
'Danielson's men,' she said brokenly. 'They attacked us . . . the commodore is injured . . .'  
  
He glanced over her, smiling faintly even as his blood began to boil.  
  
'You're not in too good a state yourself, love,' he said gently, bending swiftly to lift her into his arms.  
  
Cradled in his embrace, Marin obeyed her first instinct, wrapping her arms about his neck and resting her head on his shoulder. Jack turned back to the house, Gibbs at his back as they made their hurried way up the path to the front door.  
  
The governor saw them pass through swiftly, following them into the drawing room with an exasperated expression.  
  
'Mr Sparrow, I believe I have asked you not to use the front entrance to the house,' he began, stopping in shock as Jack set Marin gently down on the sofa, his hand brushing tenderly over her hair as he straightened.  
  
'If you want to be helpful, you will go and get Elias,' he told the governor, his voice strangely unemotional. 'If not, I can just punch you here and now, if that's what you really want.'  
  
The threat was delivered in a completely serious manner, making it clear to Swann that now was not the time to nit-pick. He swallowed, backing away from the angry pirate and hurrying upstairs. Gibbs slipped from the room in search of Elizabeth, fairly certain that she'd know at least some doctoring.  
  
As the door shut behind him, Jack growled, furious that Marin had been hurt.  
  
'I'll bloody kill him!' he shouted, uncaring if the entire house heard him.  
  
With a violent gesture, he punched the wall, doing little to the masonry as his fingers cracked loudly. Again and again, he beat at the ornate decoration, his fist bloodied within moments.  
  
'Jack.'  
  
He turned back to where Marin lay on the sofa, her eyes on him as he raged. She looked worried, and he realised he must have frightened her with his angry outburst. He knelt swiftly beside her, ignoring the now familiar jolt that ran through him as she took his hand in hers.  
  
'Don't leave me,' she murmured softly, her eyes frightened. 'Please . . . I'm afraid.'  
  
Frowning, he leant forward, cupping an affectionate hand against her cheek, delighted when she leant into the touch as she had done before.  
  
'A pirate should never admit to being afraid, especially to another pirate,' he reminded her, pleased when some of the fear melted from her eyes as she laughed quietly.  
  
Her fingers tightened on his, drawing his hand closer to rest on her midriff. He could feel the bulge of her locket there, and somehow knew that that was what she had moved his hand for.  
  
'I feel safe when you're around,' she said quietly, her eyes fixed on his.  
  
Jack found he couldn't look away, feeling his heart surge with affection for her as she admitted this one weakness to him. Her hands were trembling, and he moved to cover them with his own, warming her cold fingers in his palms. She smiled at the thoughtful gesture, shift upwards until she was sat comfortably, Jack perched beside her.  
  
They heard footsteps in the hallway, and she gripped his hands tightly for a moment.  
  
'Don't let Elias go after Danielson or Norrington,' she said quickly, her voice firm. 'Promise me you won't let him, Jack.'  
  
Jack's eyes narrowed, not understanding this request, but he could see the desperation in her eyes as she pleaded silently with him to agree.  
  
'I promise,' he whispered as the door burst open to admit Elias.  
  
He strode straight to Marin's side, taking the place Jack vacated quickly, his hands gentle as they checked her over for any unseen injury. Without speaking a word, he laid his hand over the locket, looking her plainly in the eye. Marin nodded, and he swept her up into his embrace, rocking her back and forth as she held onto him tightly, still frightened after her brush with their enemy.  
  
'Oh, me lovely, I thought for one terrible moment there I'd lost ye,' Elias murmured into her hair, and Jack could hear the fearful loneliness in the older man's voice as this thought struck him to the bone.  
  
She pushed away for a moment, letting him trace her cheek with a shaking hand.  
  
'The crew,' she said suddenly. 'Elias, the soldiers are out looking for pirates. We have to warn the crew.'  
  
He nodded, obviously still shaken by the thought that he could have lost his one light. He glanced up at where Jack stood, watching them silently.  
  
'Jack lad, young Dugan is lurking in the greenery out there,' he told his old student. 'Would ye be seeing yer way clear to sending him down to the taverns to warn the men?'  
  
Jack grinned, though the expression was extremely tense. He nodded, turning to slip from the room as Elias drew Marin back into his embrace again. Elizabeth met him in the hallway, her eyes wild as her imagination drew all sorts of pictures for her.  
  
'Jack, what happened?' she asked impatiently. 'Where's Marin?'  
  
He held her shoulders, forcing her to calm down before he told her anything.  
  
'Marin was attacked by Danielson's men,' he told her firmly, not one ounce of excitement in his voice at all. 'She's got a gash on her arm and one on her ankle, and a split lip. Can you deal with that?'  
  
She frowned, unconsciously rubbing her bump as the child within kicked excitedly.  
  
'If I have to,' she said, 'but I'd rather call for a doctor -'  
  
'No,' he insisted. 'No doctors.'  
  
Elizabeth looked affronted.  
  
'Why ever not?' she asked, confused by his taut posture and voice.  
  
Jack sighed. How could she know he could explode at any moment? He forced his temper down a little more, removing his hands from her shoulders.  
  
'A doctor would take one look at her and send a dozen soldiers up here to arrest her,' he explained patiently. 'Now go and see to her, Elizabeth, and stop asking stupid questions!'  
  
He stalked away, a little ashamed of himself for snapping at his friend. The governor stopped him at the door.  
  
'I've already sent the young man down to the taverns,' he said hurriedly as Jack turned eyes black with unexpressed fury on him. 'It was all I could think of to help.'  
  
Jack nodded, patting the older man roughly on the shoulder and striding out into the night. He drew his pistol, taking aim at a large poplar tree, and thought the better of it. Even if the shot didn't bring the soldiers up here, it would certainly alarm Elias, and the last thing he needed was to have to duck bullets from his friend. At a loss for any other way to express his anger, he began to kick at the bushes around him, finding the devastation he wreaked oddly satisfying.  
  
From inside, he heard Elias begin to speak, his voice increasing in volume as he caught up with what had happened. Jack smiled grimly, hacking at the greenery with his sabre. Someone was going to pay for the injury to his Marin, of that he was certain.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Panic over, I have a new beta! Thanks to everyone who offered . . . it was really nice to find out that so many had suggestions for the fic! I feel so loved! *sigh*  
  
In that vein, how do you like my scarily fast production of chapters here? Three in one day! Although I'm a little worried that I'm losing Jack's character . . . hints, anyone? 


	15. More Of A Scuffle

Will walked wearily up the dusty track to the house, tired after a long day's work. As always when he returned to Port Royale, he was inundated with orders for swords, daggers, anything that required the hand of a master, for it was well known that Master Brown had lost his touch. Will Turner was now the most sought after metal smith in four islands, regardless of his pirate status.  
  
He was somewhat surprised on entering the house to hear raised voices coming from the drawing room, and hurried to the door, wondering what on earth could have happened. Slipping into the candlelit room, he was confronted with the sight of a beaten and blood-stained Marin being bandaged by Elizabeth. Glancing to his right, he saw Jack and Elias glaring at the floor with identical expression that spelt revenge clearly and succinctly. And Gibbs was standing with the governor, though both were staring in horror at the extent of Marin's injuries.  
  
'What the bloody hell happened?' Will demanded, shocked at the scene laid out before him.  
  
Everyone jumped, not having noticed his entry into the room. Marin gave him a weak smile, pale beneath the dirt that marred her fair skin. The tattered dress was gone, at her insistence, replaced with the shirt and breeches she was most comfortable in. Will had to admit, she did look far better as a pirate than a lady, despite the numerous weapons on her person.  
  
'Danielson's men came after Marin,' Gibbs told him, jumping in quickly before either Jack or Elias could go off on a rant again. 'Stabbed Norrington, and cut her up bad.'  
  
Will frowned.  
  
'Why?' he asked, kneeling to help his wife support the girl as Elizabeth searched for any other wounds.  
  
For some reason, Marin and Elias both went quite still, exchanging a look that spoke volumes. Will understood implicitly that it was not something he was meant to know.  
  
'Never mind,' he said. 'Do we need a doctor?'  
  
Elizabeth glanced at the pirates.  
  
'I would say yes, but there's too much risk of Marin being arrested if we call for someone,' she said softly, but he could see that she was worried for her friend. Even Will knew about the risk of infection, especially since the wounds had been inflicted with daggers and sabres.  
  
Marin shifted suddenly, turning to look up into Elias' eyes, her expression intense.  
  
'He has the fourth locket,' she said cryptically. 'Norrington.'  
  
Elias knelt swiftly before her, uncaring for the moment how many people overheard them.  
  
'Are ye sure, lass?' he asked her gently.  
  
She nodded wearily.  
  
'I saw it,' she told him, letting Will and Elizabeth push her back against the cushions. 'It's on the lower right ring.'  
  
Jack's eyes widened as his mind made the incredible leap between the similarity of Elias and Marin's lockets, to the arrival of another worn by Norrington. Could the final one by what had sparked the altercation he had witnessed between Marin and Danielson the night they had rescued Will?  
  
The others, confused by what they were hearing, jumped in fright suddenly as footsteps were heard in the hallway outside the room. Elias stood, moving to stand with Jack between the doorway and Marin, his sabre drawn. The door opened slowly and quietly, and a familiar voice called out to them from the darkness beyond.  
  
'Cap'n Fitzpatrick?'  
  
Elias relaxed, reaching into the hallway and dragging Dugan into the room with a grin for the little lad's caution. Dugan's eyes widened when he saw Marin, though much of that horror was replaced with amusement as she made a grotesque face at him.  
  
'I put the word oot, cap'n,' he said, turning to face Elias once again. 'The marines are everywhere, but they willnae find any crew of the Dragon, or the Pearl.'  
  
The last was said with a nod to Jack, who visibly relaxed somewhat. This relief, however, was short-lived as Dugan continued.  
  
'But having said that, cap'n, there's a fella coming up the path,' he mentioned. 'Navy uniform, but he isnae armed.'  
  
Looks were exchanged between the men standing around, and this time Will stood with them as they resumed their watchful guard between Marin and the door. Elizabeth unconsciously slid closer to the girl, slipping an arm about her shoulders. The governor opened his mouth to object to their readiness to fight a naval officer in his house, but Gibbs firmly pushed him back into his seat.  
  
They heard the knock on the front door, and a thick Irish brogue demanding to know where the girl was, the one that was injured. Fingers flexed on sabre hilts, pistol butts, as the footsteps drew close. When the man finally did step into the room, it was to look down the barrels of two pistols and within range of three sabres.  
  
Gibbs gave a bark of surprise.  
  
'O'Reilly! What're ye doing up here, ya old goat?'  
  
Never taking his eyes off the men before him, O'Reilly answered calmly,  
  
'I could ask you the same question, Gibbs, but I don't see the need to. Commodore sent me up to check on the young lady who was injured this afternoon.'  
  
If anything, the atmosphere in the room grew colder. Elias snarled at him.  
  
'Who are ye, to be thinking yer doctoring better than ours?' he spat.  
  
Just as calm as before, O'Reilly looked him up and down before answering.  
  
'I am ship's surgeon to the H.M.S. Dauntless,' he said softly, 'and you, my friend, are a pirate, if I'm not very much mistaken.'  
  
He shifted slightly, turning to look straight into Elias' eyes.  
  
'I give you my word, Elias Fitzpatrick, as one Irishman to another, that no harm will come to the girl from the King's Navy.'  
  
Elias held his gaze for a long time, weighing up this unruffled, apparently sober Irishman who had so correctly read him in so short a time. With a curt nod, he put up his weapons, signalling Jack and Will to do that same.  
  
'I'll be holding ye to yer word then, ship's surgeon,' he said, stepping aside to let O'Reilly kneel before Marin.  
  
'Now then, Miss Delaney,' O'Reilly said softly, peeling away the bandages Elizabeth had so recently put on. 'I hear you've been in the wars.'  
  
Marin laughed faintly.  
  
'Hardly a war, Mr O'Reilly,' she told him. 'Four against two is more of a scuffle.'  
  
The ghost of a smile swept across O'Reilly's face.  
  
'From the looks of those bodies you left behind, you did more than your share of the fighting,' he murmured. 'Only one man had a sword wound.'  
  
Marin's eyes widened as he glanced up, and he chuckled to see her so stuck for words.  
  
'Ah,' he said suddenly, reaching into his bag. 'Yours, I believe.'  
  
He dropped her dirk in her hand with a grin. At that point, Elias realised what it was O'Reilly had said.  
  
'Ye mean that no account coward of a commodore didn't even take on his share of the fight?' he demanded, fixing his young shipmate with an angry glare.  
  
'He couldn't, Elias,' she told him quickly. 'They stabbed him almost as soon as the fighting started. I had to finish them off.'  
  
'And you were injured whilst under his escort,' the governor added. 'No gentleman should ever allow such a thing to happen to a lady.'  
  
As O'Reilly made use of the brandy that stood on the table beside her to clean the gash on her arm, Marin gave the governor a long look.  
  
'I'm hardly what you would call a lady, now am I, governor?' she asked acidly, subsiding under a stern glance from Elizabeth.  
  
O'Reilly grinned to himself at the little scene, inwardly amused at the collection of characters gathered together in protection of their friend.  
  
'How is the commodore?' Marin asked him suddenly.  
  
Elias snorted, throwing up his hands in exasperation.  
  
'Why should ye want to know?' he asked her incredulously.  
  
Marin glared up at him from where she sat on the sofa, kept back from rising only by O'Reilly's restraining hand on her knee.  
  
'He was injured trying to protect me, Elias,' she snapped heatedly. 'Even if you don't care about him, I do. He's become a friend to me over the past few days, and I won't stand by and listen to you belittle him at every opportunity!'  
  
Elias, taken aback by her outburst, opened his mouth to snap back at her, but stopped himself. As he gazed down at her, he realised something had changed. She wasn't a little girl anymore, and he had no right to treat as such. She could choose her own path now.  
  
'My apologies,' he muttered, and turned away.  
  
Jack had seen the look of horror that had crossed Marin's face following her outburst, and the stricken pain-filled gaze she levelled at her captain's back. He thumped down into the chair beside her.  
  
'So,' he asked the surgeon, 'how is the dear commodore?'  
  
'Not bad, considering,' O'Reilly told him, watching from the corner of his eye as Jack reached across and squeezed Marin's hand gently. 'He's a stubborn mule, almost insisted that I come up and find you before tending to him. With any luck, Gillette should keep him still a while longer.'  
  
Marin tore her gaze from Jack's to look at him quizzically.  
  
'What do you mean, with any luck?' she asked.  
  
O'Reilly chuckled.  
  
'Well, it's only a flesh wound, thank God, but knowing him, he'll be up and about as soon as physically possible,' he told them. 'I had a devil of a time getting him to lie still while I stitched him up. He's worrying himself sick about you, young lady.'  
  
For some reason, Marin found her gaze drawn to Jack's, and saw something akin to jealousy in the pirate's eyes as they spoke of Norrington. Did he really think she would choose the stuffy upper class Englishman over him? Her fingers tightened on his, and his eyes softened, both of them unwilling to break the look.  
  
Dugan nudged Elias in the kidneys, encouraging his captain to turn around and see the love that was so obvious between the two. Elias grinned suddenly, sensing the ease with which the gesture had come to Jack, and realised that perhaps the irascible pirate had made his choice. He nodded to himself, turning away before either of them noticed his scrutiny. Perhaps it was just as well he had noticed his Marin growing up.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Be proud of me! Three chapters - THREE - in one day! Is that good or what? And I need a vote or tally or something here . . . should Marin end up with Norrington? Or Jack? Please consider carefully, as it will effect which direction my plot will go in.  
  
Be well, guys! *gestures pointedly at the review button* Well, you get the idea . . . 


	16. A Traitor Twice Over

It seemed Governor's House was to remain awake for most of the night. The pirates were on edge, keeping a lookout for Danielson's men, though they knew you would have to be a fool to attack this house. Elizabeth couldn't sleep, and so was sat up with Marin in the drawing room, her father nearby. The whole place was tense.  
  
They heard the familiar sound of hooves and wheels coming closer, exchanging wary glances as they tried to identify who could be visiting the governor at such a late hour. The three pirates were up instantly, once again standing before the door. They were not about to let anyone get to Marin, be they Navy or otherwise.  
  
Elizabeth heard a familiar voice echo through the house, and felt her insides clench in sudden fear.  
  
'Stand aside, man!' Norrington ordered clearly. 'I wish to see the governor, and I refuse to believe that he is abed.'  
  
His footsteps came closer, the pirates tensing, ready to fall on him should they need to. The commodore strode into the room, stopping dead in his tracks when he saw the worthy arrayed against him. His hand went to his sword.  
  
'You draw that, you're a dead man, Norrington,' Jack warned him, all pretence of amicability gone from his face. This was the man who had allowed Marin to be harmed under his protection, and he would get no quarter.  
  
The commodore's eyes narrowed, aware that he had somehow managed to offend the lucky pirate, but unsure quite how, unless he knew the young woman who had been masquerading as a lady. He couldn't see past them to where Marin was sitting, and the wound in his side chose that moment to burn, draining the strength from him. He swayed, refusing to admit his weakness. Elias, however, noticed.  
  
'Sit down, lad, before ye fall down,' he told him, forcing the naval officer into a nearby chair. 'Put up your weapons, lads.'  
  
Will lowered his sabre, looking relieved as he rejoined his wife on the sofa. Jack, on the other hand, didn't move. Elias gestured to his pistol.  
  
'Put it away, Jack.'  
  
The younger pirate either didn't hear him, or ignored him. Elias frowned.  
  
'Jack lad,' he said warningly.  
  
This time there was no doubt of Jack's hearing, for he glanced at his old mentor and then looked deliberately back at Norrington. The pistol never wavered. Elias' face darkened in anger.  
  
There was movement behind Jack, and a small hand touched his arm, the skin bloodied and bruised. Jack looked down into Marin's pale face, and saw the silent request for him to back down. His eyes returned to Norrington's face, seeing the relief there that she seemed well, despite her wounds.  
  
The pressure on his arm increased slightly, and he realised Marin was on the verge of falling down. He slipped his pistol into his belt, turning to wrap an arm around her waist. She leant on him heavily, neither of them noticing the looks exchanged around the room as he drew her down to sit beside him.  
  
Norrington sighed softly. It was just his luck. The one woman he took a fancy to after Elizabeth was Jack Sparrow's woman. Typical, he thought, just bloody typical. The older pirate, the one who had told him to sit down, knelt suddenly before him.  
  
'Marin tells me ye wear a locket about yer neck,' he said in curiosity. 'Might I be seeing it?'  
  
Wary of this request, Norrington stiffened, ignoring the burst of pain that shot through him at the tension in his muscles.  
  
'And if I refuse?' he asked cautiously.  
  
Elias laughed, the merry sound loud and alien in the tense room.  
  
'Ye think I be wanting to steal it and run ye through?' he laughed. 'Nay, lad, nay. I just be wishing to see it.'  
  
'Perhaps I should show mine,' Marin suggested gently. Norrington noted with no little irritation Sparrow's arm still curled about her waist.  
  
Elias considered for a moment and nodded.  
  
'Aye, lass, that ye should,' he said, scooting Dugan from the seat beside Norrington as Jack once again supported Marin across the room to sit closer. 'And 'tis only fair that I should share in this.'  
  
Thoroughly confused, but not about to show it, Norrington watched as Marin reached into her shirt and withdrew a large silver locket. Even from where he sat, he could see the familiar interlocking rings. Frowning, he turned to Elias, to see the old pirate holding another such locket, of similar design.  
  
'Fair's fair, now you,' Elias said softly, seeing the curiosity and confusion on the naval officer's face.  
  
With hands that shook very slightly, Norrington unbuttoned his coat and shirt, lifting out the locket that his father had given him the day the old man died. It was identical to the others in every respect bar one . . . the ring that bore the chain was the only difference between the three pieces.  
  
Elias nodded slowly, an oddly serene expression settling over his grizzled features.  
  
'So there's the fourth,' he murmured.  
  
At this, Marin's head snapped up, her eyes seeking those of her guardian. He smiled gently at her.  
  
'Soon, lass, soon you will know all,' he told her.  
  
He stood, his gaze seeking out Dugan where the boy sat curled up by the window.  
  
'Dugan, lad, I need ye to do something for me,' he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a key. 'This is the key to my private box. I want ye to run down to the Dragon and bring me back whatever you find in that box.'  
  
Dugan took the key, nodding.  
  
'What'll be me reward fer it, cap'n?' he asked with a cheeky grin, already out of the door before Elias could answer him.  
  
'Would someone please explain to me just what is going on?' Norrington asked suddenly.  
  
Elias nodded.  
  
'Aye, when young Dugan returns with the paper,' he told the impatient man. 'But first, let me ask ye a question. How much do ye know about that locket?'  
  
Norrington frowned, somehow compelled to tell all he knew.  
  
'My father gave it to me when he died,' he said softly, one finger tracing the embossed design as if for comfort. 'He told me I must never lose it, and that one day men would come to me, each with one just like it. He said it was one of four that had been in our family for generations.'  
  
Marin drew in a quiet breath.  
  
'Family?' she whispered, her eyes wide as she gazed on the commodore.  
  
He, too, seemed taken aback by the implication of what he had said. Elias nodded to both of them, his eyes kind.  
  
'What do ye be knowing of yer family, lad?' he asked gently, aware that this was perhaps not the best time to spring certain revelations on either of the locket bearers.  
  
Norrington tore his eyes from Marin's to look up at the old captain.  
  
'I know the locket came from the female side of the family,' he said, his voice thoughtful. 'An Irish noblewoman married into an English family. She was cast out from her own for an act of love.'  
  
Elias grinned at the anger in the commodore's voice.  
  
'Because she was respectable,' he confirmed, winking at Marin. 'Tis a terrible thing when an Irish maid can be called respectable, lass. Barbaric, rebellious, yes, for that is what we are. But never should we be called respectable.'  
  
She laughed, and after a moment Norrington joined her, seeing for the first time the illogical reasoning behind the history of his family. Will felt Elizabeth's grip on his arm tighten, reaching down to reassure her that he had seen and heard what she had. The English commodore and Irish girl's laughter was disturbingly similar.  
  
'But they never deserted yer family, did they, lad?' Elias continued. 'They kept a watch over the children of each generation.'  
  
Norrington's gaze grew sharp as he gazed up at the pirate.  
  
'Yes,' he said warily. 'How could you know that?'  
  
Elias' smile was irritatingly smug.  
  
'I am descended of that Irish maid's family, lad,' he informed the suddenly shocked officer. 'I am the however many greats grandson of her brother. Yer cousin.'  
  
Norrington was pale, though from shock or blood loss, it was hard to tell. He stood slowly, holding Elias' stare.  
  
'Cousin?' he asked hoarsely. 'How can I believe what you say is true?'  
  
Elias pushed him back down into the chair, mindful of his injury.  
  
'I wouldn't expect a Navy man to take the word of a pirate, nor an Englishman to take the word of a son of Eire,' he told him. 'But what young Dugan will be bringing to me shortly will have all the proof ye need.'  
  
'Hold on,' Marin said softly, as Norrington sank back in the chair, turning his locket over in his hands. 'If you both have lockets, and are of the same family, then does that mean I am a cousin too?'  
  
'Aye, lass, that it does,' Elias told her, grinning. 'Why d'ye think I fished ye out of the water for, if there were not some profit in it for me?'  
  
She smiled faintly, brushing off the humour.  
  
'Why didn't you tell me?' she asked him.  
  
Elias sighed and knelt before her, taking her hands in his as she gazed into his eyes, searching for answers to questions that had not yet been asked.  
  
'I would have told ye if I could, me lovely, but as I said, I have too many secrets and promises to keep to reveal all,' he said regretfully. 'By any stretch of luck, ye shall know all by the morning.'  
  
She frowned.  
  
'Why the morning?'  
  
'Because as soon as the clock turns midnight, ye will be of age, and I am no longer blood bound to have all four lockets with me when the secret is told.'  
  
'Blood bound?' Jack asked, inwardly delighted when Marin leant back against him, cradled in the curve of his arm.  
  
Elias regarded him for a moment, taking in the sight of the two people he cared for most in all the world wrapped in each other's embrace.  
  
'Have ye not heard the old adage, Jack, that blood is thicker than water?' he asked, nodding as Norrington's head snapped up. 'Our family took that as their motto when the secret was first hidden, and have held true to it . . . well, most of us have.'  
  
He glanced at Norrington. The commodore closed his eyes with a grimace, drawing a shaking hand across his brow.  
  
'The traitor,' he muttered.  
  
'Tis always good to see the English haven't tried to deny the Irish their place in history,' Elias said dryly, rising to his feet. 'Aye, commodore, the traitor. I'm sure yer grandfather had a lot to say about her.'  
  
Norrington nodded into his chest, refusing to look at him. Too much of the old pirate's story coincided with his own family history.  
  
'The traitor, the second sister of the maid who married into my family,' he said quietly, in explanation for those who knew nothing of their exchange. 'She sold out a rebellion, her and her husband, and because of her, many thousands of innocents lost their lives.'  
  
'All for money,' Elias spat, his fists clenching reflexively. 'And now her descendant had shed blood, our blood, in pursuit of profit. A traitor twice over, by blood and by deed.'  
  
'The fourth locket?' Norrington asked.  
  
He looked around, seeing his answer in the eyes of those who sat with him.  
  
'Who?'  
  
Elias' expression was grim.  
  
'Have ye, by any chance, heard of a man, goes by the name of Christian Danielson?' he asked the commodore, watching in satisfaction as Norrington slumped back in his chair, one hand over his eyes.  
  
'Oh God,' he groaned. 'Not him.'  
  
*~*~*  
  
And the A/Ns return! I love you guys! 


	17. Many Happy Returns

Dugan hurried through the darkness, his precious package inside his coat. He didn't know what was so important about this piece of parchment to send him running off for it, but he knew when not to argue with his captain. Besides, anything was worth it to escape the tension in that house, even for just half an hour.  
  
He slipped in through a open window and made his way quickly to the drawing room, where the stormy atmosphere seemed to have calmed slightly. He noted, with a grin, Miss Marin and Captain Jack sitting together, and the commodore not far away, a decidedly unhappy expression on his face. Elias turned as he entered, never one to miss an addition to the company, no matter how silent.  
  
'Ah, boy, do ye have it?'  
  
Dugan grinned, reaching into his jerkin.  
  
'Aye, cap'n, that I do,' he said cheerfully, handing his delivery to Elias carefully. 'Didnae take me tae long tae find it, neither.'  
  
But Elias wasn't listening. He unfolded the parchment with gentle hand, just far enough to uncover the seal that marked the bottom of the page, and gave it to the commodore. Norrington took it, his eyes drawn immediately to the design, knowing instinctively that if he were to explore the page further, it would be taken from him.  
  
'Will ye be accepting that as yer proof, commodore?' Elias asked quietly.  
  
Norrington felt as though he had been kicked repeatedly in the stomach. There was no way he could deny that the seal was that of his Irish ancestors, and in accepting that as truth, he had to accept that he was related, however distantly, to these pirates, who even now regarded him with steady eyes. With a quiet sigh, he pushed himself to his feet, handing the parchment back to its rightful owner.  
  
'What better proof that that of my blood . . . cousin,' he said, accepting Elias' warm handshake with something akin to relief.  
  
He had believed for so long that with the death of his father he was alone in the world, with no one to share the burdens of his blood with him. With this revelation came the knowledge that his loneliness was unfounded. He had family once again.  
  
Elias glanced up at the clock, seeing the hands pointing to forty minutes past eleven.  
  
'Then now, we wait,' he told them, settling himself down before the fire.  
  
There was a pause, each person enclosed in their own thoughts as they pondered the significance of what had just taken place.  
  
'Governor, could I prevail upon you for a stiff drink?' Norrington asked suddenly, his voice loud in the stillness. 'I feel in need of one.'  
  
Leaping to his feet. Governor Swann hurried to the cabinet, offering his best spirits to everyone there. Elizabeth watched as Norrington down a large measure of whisky in one, drawing colour back into his pale features. Beside her, Will yawned, pulling her back against him as they, too, settled down to wait for this dark secret that bound three pirates and a commodore of the King's Navy together so tightly to be revealed.  
  
Jack rested his head atop Marin's as she leant against him. She probably would have fitted perfectly into his embrace, were it not for the four pistols, two sabres, and innumerable daggers littered about their persons, making it damn near impossible to find a comfortable position.  
  
Something had changed tonight, ht knew, something profound had passed between them. He had been so angry when Gibbs had brought her back, bloodied and bruised from her confrontation with Danielson's bully boys. He had wanted to kill Danielson right then and there with his bare hands. But something had kept him by her side, almost as if he couldn't bear the thought of her suffering alone. And now he knew she had no man to return to . . . perhaps he did have a chance with her. She certainly wasn't pulling away from him now.  
  
Marin sighed softly, glorying in the warmth of Jack's embrace. He seemed so at ease with himself tonight, so at ease with her. She, too, was comfortable, no longer edgy or tense when he touched her. Vaguely she wondered why that was, not really expecting to find an answer, when it hit her. She loved him.  
  
Elizabeth had warned her that she might be falling for him and she had brushed her friend's concern aside, but now she thought about it, the more sense it made. Why else would she be so unconcerned by his familiar embrace, why else would she welcome his gentle affection without a second thought? She smiled softly, quickly resigned to her heart. She was in love with Captain Jack Sparrow.  
  
An insistent chiming invaded her thoughts and Jack shifted slightly, pushing her into a more upright position. His lips brushed her ear as he sat up with her, sending a shiver down her spine that had nothing to do with the temperature.  
  
'Many happy returns, love,' he murmured, his eyes on Elias.  
  
The old captain sat forward, his eyes on his cousins as they perched in their seats, ready to hear what he had to say. The silence was thick with unspoken questions, as he very deliberately removed his locket and set it on the table between them. Glancing at one another, Norrington and Marin followed suit, relinquishing their trinkets to the scrutiny of the others gathered around them.  
  
'Here follows an account of the finding of the treasure and the hiding of a secret known only to a few,' Elias began, reading from the parchment in a voice that sounded strangely detached from himself.  
  
'When those of our family chose to gather together the spoils of Cortez's war against the Aztecs, certain steps were taken to prevent the curse of the heathen gods from falling on our children and those who would follow. The gold was not to be touched until the seventh heir of each child had reached the age of reason. Four children from seven survived their infancy, and four children from seven were charged with the keeping of the secret. A son and three daughters, the key divided between them, went their separate ways, trusted to protect the key and to pass each piece onto their children.  
  
'Years pass and memory fades, each finds their own way. And so shall the gold remain untouched, until the seventh heir of that seventh son gathers together those who remain of his blood to claim their inheritance, with only this for guidance; the gold survives within the eye of the storm, where the whispering winds never cease to blow and the wail of the banshee fills the air from year to year, in sight of the land where the eternal flames burn.'  
  
He watched as the word sank in, each interpreting the account in their own way.  
  
'What is the secret?' Norrington asked softly, his gaze steady as he looked on his cousin, Elias.  
  
Again without words, the seventh heir of the seventh son reached out to open the lockets that lay before him on the table. He opened them one by one, leaving them where all could see. With infinite care, he pressed a finger to the unblemished side of the silver piece. There was a tiny clink, and a piece fell out. He repeated the process with the remaining two lockets, and carefully fit the three pieces together. Before them on the table lay a silver doubloon, missing a corner, but otherwise perfect.  
  
'That is the secret, lad,' Elias said just as softly as Norrington had spoken. 'The silver doubloon is the key we will need to open the chests that hold the gold our forebears gathered for us. All we need is Danielson's locket, and our way is clear.'  
  
Marin frowned.  
  
'Where is the island?' she asked, still shocked to learn that her most prized possession from her past could hold so much significance for her future.  
  
'That, I have spent many years working out,' Elias told her. 'There is an island off the coast of Cape Horn that is not susceptible to the storms that ravage that region, but still has a continuous gale blowing across it. The wind howls across blowholes above the caves that riddle the island, making it sound as though the banshees were wailing for the deaths of all sailors.'  
  
'And the eternal flames?' Norrington pressed, leaning forward eagerly.  
  
Elias glanced up at him, pleased to see that even the introduction of upper class English blood into the family had not dulled the Celtic spark of adventure that drove the younger man.  
  
'Tierra del Fuego,' he said simply.  
  
Jack grinned, exchanging a quick glance with Marin.  
  
'The land of fire,' he muttered appreciatively. He raised his voice slightly. 'So with Danielson's locket, you'd be looking to go after the gold?'  
  
Elias' sudden grin was a shock in the tense room. He nodded.  
  
'That I would, Jack lad,' he agreed. 


	18. Definitely Family

Now then, jackfan2, the double chapter is for you, so you don't get a voice shouting 'PSYCH!' when the Author Alert pipes up! See, I do remember what people put in the reviews! Sorry . . .the point of A/N is to say that apparently the dear commodore is named in a cutscene, so I decided to used the canon name rather than be bothered to make one up. Okay? Onto the story . . .  
  
*~*~*  
  
The ocean sparkled in the afternoon sunlight, casting a glittering shadow across the bay. Jack gazed out at the ship, rolling gently in the tiny swells that swept the water. The talk had continued well into the early hours, once young Dugan had been sent down to the fort to inform them that the commodore would be staying the night at Governor's House. In fact, the planning was only postponed when the governor himself rolled gently off his chair, jolting himself awake. The laughter that had ensued had reminded Norrington of his injury, and the other's of Marin's, and so they had sent one another to bed, resolving to continue the planning later that day.  
  
Not one to sleep for many hours at a time, Jack had woken at around one o'clock, content to sit and watch the world go by until the others roused themselves. He could hear someone coming up behind him, the light steps telling him that it was a seaman.  
  
'Afternoon,' he greeted Marin as she lowered herself to the ground beside him, wincing slightly at her sore limbs.  
  
'And you,' she replied with a smile that drew an echo of it out onto his own face.  
  
'How are you this fine day?' he asked cheerfully.  
  
She grimaced, her expression comical.  
  
'Stiff,' she told him. 'Very confused.'  
  
Jack nodded, his gaze once again finding the harbour below as he unconsciously slid closer to her.  
  
'Must be a lot to take in,' he murmured, exerting a huge amount of self-control on himself to restrain the impulse to kiss her.  
  
Marin sighed softly, letting herself lean into him as her hair fell about her face, hiding the flush on her cheeks from his proximity.  
  
'Almost too much,' she agreed. 'To find out that Elias and the commodore are my cousins; worse, that Danielson is of my blood. And that my father's locket is part of a key to a stockpile of treasure on an island off Cape Horn . . . it's so surreal.'  
  
He laughed quietly, wrapping an arm about her shoulders.  
  
'I can imagine, love,' he sighed. 'Not something I'd like to discover about myself. Mind you, if any British officer was related to me, I think I'd shoot myself. Or him.'  
  
As he had hoped, Marin giggled, turning to let him see the smile that lit up her face. He grinned, pleased that he had drawn such a cheery expression from her. It hadn't seemed as odd as he had thought it might to do so.  
  
There was a groan behind them, and they both turned to watch as Commodore Norrington all but staggered out the front door, one hand pressed to his side. He leant heavily against the doorframe, seeming to breathe deeply of the clean air. As he ran a hand through his short cropped hair, Jack glanced between him and the girl sat by his side, seeing similarities he would never have thought to look for had they not been revealed as cousins.  
  
The shape of their eyes was the most striking, though they were alike in many different ways. The more Jack thought on it, the more he found himself comparing them to Elias, and finding those same similarities in him. There was no doubt in his mind that they were definitely family, though no one would guess who didn't already know.  
  
Marin suddenly leapt to her feet, hurrying to the house. He turned back to the commodore to see the naval officer sagged against the stone wall, obviously lacking the strength to remain on his feet. Jack hauled himself upright, laughing as Marin yanked Norrington from his half-seated position, ignoring his loud protests. The pirate moved to help her, lifting the stricken officer to his feet a little more gently than Marin had.  
  
'I assure you, Sparrow, I am in no need of your assistance,' the commodore muttered, his actions contradicting him as he leant heavily on Jack's arm.  
  
The pirate captain chuckled to himself.  
  
'Ah, you see, I know that, mate,' he said cheerfully. 'But as you came out, I suddenly realised I don't have the strength to carry myself, and since I can't lean on the lady here, for obvious reasons, you seemed the logical choice.'  
  
Norrington held his gaze for a long moment, clearly duelling within himself as to whether to accept the flimsy excuse offered to him. He glanced at Marin, who was fighting to contain her laughter at the ridiculous situation, and appeared to come to a decision.  
  
'Very well, Sparrow,' he conceded. 'Since you appear to find yourself so weak, I shall escort you to the drawing room.'  
  
'Most kind,' Jack murmured, grinning down at Marin as she had to turn her back on them.  
  
He drew Norrington's arm across his shoulders, pulling the commodore upright.  
  
'And it's Captain Sparrow,' he added.  
  
All he received in answer was a pained grimace as they made their slow way back though the house, Marin hurrying ahead to open the doors and send Jonathan for some coffee for the commodore. There were sounds of movement above them, signalling the waking of those others who still lay abed. With a heartfelt sigh of relief, Norrington slid into an armchair, his head lolling back on the cushions gratefully.  
  
Jack threw himself down on the sofa, making space for Marin to fold up beside him, her head on his shoulder as she curled her feet under her on the rich cloth. They heard Will accost Jonathan outside the door, talking to the old manservant gently. After a few minutes, the door opened and he stepped inside, handing Norrington his coffee as he bestowed good mornings on them.  
  
'Commodore, your surgeon, O'Reilly, will be coming up again this afternoon,' he said quietly, loath to break into the easy silence that surrounded the three. 'Apparently he doesn't approve of your excursion last night.'  
  
Norrington snorted.  
  
'He doesn't approve of anything I do, especially when I'm injured,' he muttered, pleased when Marin chuckled at his tone.  
  
'That's sounds a lot like Elias with me,' she told him. 'Except I don't need to be injured for him to treat me like a child.'  
  
The commodore caught the look that passed between his cousin and the pirate at her side, once again reaffirming to himself the distinct possibility that he was going to live a life of bachelorhood through no fault of his own.  
  
'You are very close to Elias, aren't you?' he asked softly, forcing his thoughts away from such a depressing topic.  
  
Marin smiled faintly, her eyes shining with love for the older man.  
  
'Yes, I am, commodore,' she said fondly. 'He's the only father I've ever known. He saved my life when I was very young, and I've been with him ever since. Of course, he has his faults, but he wouldn't be Elias without them.'  
  
Norrington smiled faintly, seeing the deep affection within her as she thought back on her life with the infamous pirate. He couldn't help but feel slightly envious of her obvious attachment to the man who had, to all intents and purposes, been her father. His own father had regarded him with distaste, never approving of his decision to enter the Navy. The old man had certainly never understood the allure the sea held for his only son. Norrington would have given much to be able to speak of his father with even a fraction of the easy affection that Marin felt when she spoke of her piratical family.  
  
He sighed softly, leaning forward to take her hand.  
  
'Well, since we seem to be family, I see no reason for you to continue calling me commodore,' he said gently. 'My name is James, and I would be happy if you would use it, cousin.'  
  
Marin smiled, pleased with this show of trust. The warm way he said cousin made her happy to accept him as a part of her family, convinced now that he was not the cold distant man everyone said he was.  
  
'Of course I will, James,' she said easily. 'And I don't answer to anything other than plain Marin unless I concentrate, so I'm afraid you have no choice but to use mine.'  
  
There was a shout from the landing above the hall, echoing through the old house.  
  
'Will?'  
  
Frowning in concern, Will leapt to his feet, hurrying out to see what Elizabeth wanted. She was leant against the wall, one hand on her bump and her face a mask of pain. He ran up to her, fearing the worst as his eyes searched her body for any sign of injury.  
  
'What's wrong?' he asked anxiously, his worry heightened when she didn't answer straight away. 'Elizabeth?'  
  
With a low groan, she opened her eyes with a faint smile, feeling a little guilty for panicking him so. She reached out to him, letting her husband walk her gently back to their chamber. Sinking back against the pillows, she sighed wearily.  
  
'Will, I want you to do something for me, and I don't want you to panic,' she told him, squeezing his hand gently.  
  
'Anything, love,' he said softly, brushing her hair off her face tenderly.  
  
Elizabeth smiled at his eagerness, shifting slightly as she sought a more comfortable position.  
  
'I want you to fetch the midwife,' she said, her eyes widening as the blood left his face abruptly.  
  
Will swayed, shocked to the core by what she had just told him. His hand stayed to her bump, where the child was unusually inactive.  
  
'It's happening?' he asked, his tone almost frightened. 'Now?'  
  
She nodded, a gentle expression settling on her features. Will echoed the nod, stumbling out into the hallway without any actual idea of what he was doing. He thudded down to the entry hall, falling back onto the stairs with his head in his hands. Alarmed, the three sitting together in the drawing room came to the door.  
  
'Will, what's wrong?' Marin asked him, concerned for her friend.  
  
He stared up at her blindly, barely able to get the words out.  
  
'The baby . . .' he managed, before slumping forward with his head once again held in his hands.  
  
Marin frowned, not understanding, as the two men standing behind her exchanged a look over her head. Jack patted Will gently on the head.  
  
'Congratulations, mate,' he said quietly, carefully lowering James onto the stair beside the younger pirate. He turned to Marin. 'You're needed upstairs.'  
  
Still unaware of what was actually happening, she paused, resisting his hand as he tried to usher her up the staircase. Jack sighed impatiently.  
  
'Love, what are you here for?' he asked her in exasperation, nodding as comprehension dawned on her face. 'Exactly.'  
  
As she hurried up the steps, Jack wandered down the hallway towards the kitchen, barely hearing James call for Jonathan. He slipped into the deserted kitchen, finding who he was looking for curled up under one of the tables. Gently, he shook Dugan awake.  
  
'What is it you'd be needing, cap'n?' the little lad asked sleepily, almost before he'd opened his eyes.  
  
Jack grinned down at the obedient expression.  
  
'I need you to go and get the midwife,' he told the young boy.  
  
Dugan whistled appreciatively, nodding in understanding.  
  
'Miss Elizabeth having her babbie, then, aye?'  
  
Jack nodded, pulling him to his feet.  
  
'Aye, and I can't trust Master William to even walk in a straight line, let alone find the right woman for his needs,' he said, his voice thick with suppressed amusement.  
  
Dugan, however, had no such compulsion and laughed loudly.  
  
'Aye, then, cap'n, one midwife coming up,' he promised cheerfully, slipping past Jack and out the kitchen door.  
  
Trying to wipe the grin off his face, Jack made his way back to the stairs, where James had procured a large glass of brandy and was encouraging Will to drink it down. They exchanged a hopeless look, knowing it was up to them to keep him from underfoot that day. Jack hauled Will to his feet, shoving him into the drawing room when it became clear he could hardly move without prompting. Settling the younger man in an armchair, he slipped back out into the hall to let the commodore 'escort' him back to Will's side with a sigh. It was going to be a long afternoon. 


	19. Ar Eirinn Ni Neosainn Ce Hi

The room was silent but for the gentle sigh of peaceful repose. The candlelight shone gently on the two as they sat together, gazing on the face of their firstborn son. Will could hardly believe it. It had been a long day, almost interminable for him as he paced the hall below, listening as his wife struggled through the hard birth. Jack and the other men had tried to help him, to soothe his anxiety, but how could they, when only one among them had suffered as he had that day?  
  
Still, it was all over now, and the fruit of the day's toils lay, cradled lovingly, in Elizabeth's arms. The tiny boy had succumbed to sleep quickly, staying awake just long enough to look into his father's eyes as he was given his name. His little hand held tightly onto Will's finger as he slumbered on.  
  
'He's beautiful, 'Beth,' Will whispered, loath to raise his voice for fear of waking the child.  
  
Elizabeth smiled wearily, leaning back into her husband's embrace with a grateful sigh.  
  
'I'm glad I could give you a son,' she murmured.  
  
Will drew her closer, encouraging her to use his strength to remain upright.  
  
'I would have been just as happy with a daughter, 'Beth,' he told her. 'Just to know that you are well and safe after today's trials would be enough for me.'  
  
She smiled into his kiss, thanking whoever was responsible for Will's loving presence in her life. He meant far too much to her for anything to ever mar what they shared. The child stirred slightly against her, his eyes opening sleepily to gaze up at his parents as they gazed down at him.  
  
'He has your eyes,' Will murmured.  
  
Elizabeth snorted softly, gently stroking her son's cheek with a gently finger. The tiny boy turned towards the loving touch, seeking the contact with an open mouth.  
  
'Were he a cripple with four eyes and green skin, I would not care,' she whispered fondly. 'He is our son . . . our Matthew.'  
  
Will laughed quietly at the image she had drawn for him, pulling her as close as he could. His free hand drew the coverlet over her legs as she laid her head tenderly against his shoulder. Smiling down into her tired eyes, he kissed her forehead softly.  
  
'Sleep, 'Beth,' he told her. 'I'm watching over you.'  
  
With a soft smile for his loving vigil, Elizabeth allowed herself to drift off to sleep, exhausted from the day's exertions. Will sighed in contentment, laying his head atop hers, his eyes on those of his son as Matthew, too, let sleep claim him.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Marin looked from each of her companions' faces to the next, unsure whether to be disgusted or amused at their state. Of them all, only one had a genuine reason for allowing himself to grow so drunk, and that was because his first grandson had been born that day. However, Elias and Jack could not resist the call of alcohol, no matter the celebration, and certainly not when it was the best to be had.  
  
But she was disappointed in the commodore. He, of all people, should have shown at least some display of decorum, in her opinion. However, he was quite obviously the most inebriated of the lot, and not showing any signs of wishing to relinquish his glass any time soon.  
  
She sighed. She couldn't blame them, of course. The birth of any child is a matter to celebrate, especially when you had a connection with the family as they did, but Marin couldn't help thinking that perhaps the men were taking it a bit too far. She'd heard of taking a drink to wet the baby's head, but enough alcohol was being consumed tonight to drown the poor child.  
  
'I never should have joined the army,' James was saying to her shoulder, his glass held tightly in his hand to avoid spilling the contents.  
  
Marin frowned.  
  
'You didn't,' she told him.  
  
He blinked, peering at her with intense concentration.  
  
'Didn't I?'  
  
She shook her head. James seemed to consider this before giving her a big smile.  
  
'That's good, isn't it?'  
  
'I'm sure it is,' she said, leaning back out of the fumes. This was why she never spent her time ashore with the crew in the taverns. When the drink had flowed a certain amount of time, they always seemed to want to confide in her.  
  
James nodded to himself, taking a large gulp of his brandy. He blinked owlishly at her, gripping her shoulder clumsily.  
  
'You're a very pretty girl, Marlin,' he told her, and she rolled her eyes, biting her lip to keep from laughing at the mispronunciation of her name. 'Had my cap set for you all along.'  
  
Dear God, I hope he doesn't remember this in the morning, Marin prayed. She glanced up at where Jack, Elias and the governor were ensconced in a deep, meaningful, and above all, slurred conversation, satisfied that she would be the only one to hear whatever the commodore had to say whilst under the influence.  
  
'I would've married you, you know,' James continued. 'Was going to ask you if you stayed a bit longer. But no . . . no, you're Sparrow's woman, anyone can see that.'  
  
Marin found herself blushing, embarrassed that her feelings for Jack were so obvious that even this austere detached gentleman had noticed them. He laughed bitterly.  
  
'The only two women I've ever wanted . . . already in love with someone else,' he said ruefully, a sardonic smile on his face. 'First Will got Elizabeth . . . I'm going to stand aside for Sparrow. No one should have to face rejection where their heart is involved.'  
  
He raised his hand, brandy slopping out of the glass to drip down his fingers.  
  
'Not that I want him to be happy, you understand,' he added hastily, glancing up at Jack with an angry glint in his dark eyes.  
  
Marin sighed, seeing the conflict between them was still burning brightly, and gently removed her cousin's hand from her shoulder. He slumped forward, devoid of a prop to hold him up, his head taking up position where his hand had been for a moment.  
  
'You smell nice,' he murmured none too softly as he pushed himself upright once again, a pompous look on his face.  
  
'Honour,' he said, 'always honour. I have my honour, and Will has Elizabeth, and Sparrow has you, and I won't stand in its way . . . not even to patch a cirate.'  
  
Once again, Marin was obliged to bite down on her lip to prevent an inappropriate giggle.  
  
'James, I think it's time you went to bed,' she said softly.  
  
He stared at her, his eyes narrowing as he peered through the alcoholic haze that surrounded him.  
  
'Bed?' he asked loudly, his words slurring together magnificently. 'But the yight is still noung!'  
  
He flourished his glass, spilling what was left of the brandy over Marin's knees. She gave him a tight smile, removing the glass from his hand, and turned to glare at Jack. The pirate gave her an unsteady smile, swaying gently in his chair.  
  
'Want something, love?'  
  
She looked him up and down scathingly, making him painfully aware of just how drunk he was.  
  
'Never mind, I'll do it myself,' she said irritably.  
  
Standing, she drew James to his feet, pulling his arm about her shoulders and deftly removing the brandy bottle from his out-stretched hand.  
  
'Come along, James, it's time you went to sleep,' she told the drunk commodore, giving him no option but to go with her, or fall down.  
  
His fingers gripped her shirt tightly as they made their painful way up the stairs. Intoxicated as he was, James did try to help his little companion haul him up the staircase, though he only succeeded in making himself even heavier for the young woman. Despite this, they made it to his door in one piece, and it was with profound relief Marin staggered into the chamber, all but throwing her cousin onto the bed face first.  
  
A drunken 'thank you' drifted up to her, somewhat muffled by the fact that his face was pressed into the coverlet. Marin smiled faintly and turned to go, finding herself unable to. What if the maids found him like this the next morning? His dignity would go in a flash, he'd be the talk of every gossip in the town. She couldn't let that happen to him.  
  
Shaking her head at her own soft-heartedness, she turned back to him, pushing him over onto his back with a sigh. James watched her silently, his scrutiny almost childlike, as she wrestled with the buttons on his coat and shirt. After much muted cussing, Marin finally managed to get the intricate buttons undone, drawing both coat and shirt off him none too gently. The wig was carefully put to one side, and she knelt down at the end of the bed to draw his hose and shoes off his dangling feet.  
  
'Robert would be proud of you.'  
  
Marin paused, her gaze drawn upwards to where James was slumped against one of the posts on his bed. He was watching her with that same childlike intensity as she pulled his shoes off.  
  
'What makes you say that?' she asked him, swallowing against the lump that had risen in her throat when he spoke of her father.  
  
'I knew him, you know,' her cousin said softly, sounding almost sober, though just one look into his eyes told he was nowhere near sobriety. 'Always something odd about Robert. Nothing bad, he was just . . . wild, I suppose. He would be proud that you're a pirate. Just as Elias is.'  
  
Marin smiled gently, pushing back onto the coverlet as she braced herself to remove his trousers. There was no way she was even going to consider taking his underwear off him, she told herself. Folding the discarded clothes carefully, she rummaged about until she located a nightshirt, pulling the cool cloth over his head with no little difficulty, since he was rapidly losing control of his extremities.  
  
'There was a tune he used to sing,' James mused as she pushed him backwards again, yanking his tall frame up towards the pillows until he was completely in the bed. 'Something about erin . . . lovely tune.'  
  
Marin knew which song he was talking about almost instantly, knowing only one song that spoke of a reel. Elias had made sure she had learnt it as she grew up, insisting it was her song.  
  
'Ar Eirinn Ni Neosainn Ce Hi,' she told the recumbent man, manuvering the covers out from under him.  
  
James smiled innocently up at her as she drew the coverlet up to his chin, tucking the edges beneath the mattress.  
  
'That's the one,' he said proudly, blinking owlishly in the candlelight. 'Do you know it?'  
  
Marin smiled faintly, remembering how often she had sung it before then. Strange, the tune had not come to mind over recent months.  
  
'Yes, I know it,' she said softly, gently brushing his hair from his face. 'You should sleep now.'  
  
His hand caught hers as she turned away, keeping her nearby. Frowning in confusion, Marin looked down to find tears in the older man's eyes.  
  
'Sing it to me,' he whispered, sounding alone and vulnerable in the dim light. 'Please?'  
  
Touched by his sudden vulnerability, Marin sank down onto the bed, her hand still in his as he watched her.  
  
'Why do you want to hear it?' she asked him gently, sensing there was more than nostalgia involved in the request.  
  
James swallowed against his tears.  
  
'My mother . . . she used to sing it to me when I was a child,' he told her softly. 'She died when I was very young. To hear Robert sing it again brought her back to me. Please . . . I need her tonight.'  
  
Unable to deny him what he so obviously needed, Marin cleared her throat quietly, pushing aside her own sorrowful recognition of the pain that filled the commodore's voice. Softly, she began to sing, holding his hand in her own as the melody filled the little chamber.  
  
James smiled, listening to the familiar tune and feeling the serenity that had gone away with his mother return to him once more. Marin's voice had a rich emotive tone to it, and he found himself hoping to hear more of her singing at more convenient times. As she sang softly to him, he drifted off to sleep, bound up in the magic of the song as it surrounded his heart with old memories filled with love.  
  
Marin gently removed her hand from his, slipping softly from the chamber with a heavy heart. She had thought herself hard done by not to have known her parents. It had never occurred to her that to have known them and lost them could be infinitely worse. She shut the door quietly, not wishing to wake him, and turned to go up to her own room.  
  
'What were you in there so long for?'  
  
The voice made her jump, and she scowled at Jack as he sauntered out from the shadows to wrap an affectionate arm about her shoulders.  
  
'Talking,' she told him, letting him walk with her up the stairs.  
  
Jack snorted in relief. He had thought that perhaps the commodore had beaten him at his own game.  
  
'Good, because I wanted to ask you something,' he said, frowning as his inebriated brain failed to hold on to the thought even as he spoke.  
  
Unfortunately for him, Marin paused, looking up at her drunken companion with interest  
  
'What was it you wanted?' she asked.  
  
Jack stared down at her, caught up in the sudden urge to kiss her. He meant forwards, drawing his arms about her shoulders. However, Marin had other ideas. She pushed him away, wrinkling her nose at the stench of alcohol wafting around him.  
  
'God, Jack, you smell like a brewery,' she said, disgusted. 'Please don't come so close until you've washed, at least.'  
  
Jack blinked slowly looking very confused.  
  
'Don't you want me to kiss you?' he asked bluntly. 'Most women do.'  
  
Marin hid her smile, turning away to open her door, fully aware that he was expecting to follow her inside. She looked up at his adorably hurt expression and decided he'd get over it.  
  
'Not tonight, Josephine,' she said softly, and shut the door in his face.  
  
Jack gave the painted wood a disgruntled glare, as if it was somehow to blame for his being on the wrong side of the door. He shrugged and turned away . . . too quickly as it turned out. The world spun wildly for a moment, and then went black. All Marin heard was the thud as he hit the floor, out for the count.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Hey there! The song is a real song, Irish Gaelic and all that, and the title translates as 'For Ireland I'd Not tell Her Name', which I think fits rather well don't you?  
  
And ah . . . heh heh . . . *gulp* I've had a sprint of inspiration over the last couple of days. I have roughly six chapters that need posting, and I was wondering . . . do you want them all at once or spaced out?  
  
Oh, and the results of the poll conclude that no one wants Norrington to get together with Marin, so I have a rather delirious captain on my hands here. Get back to me on the chapters, hmmm? *gestures again towards the little blue button* 


	20. His Marin

Well, the majority vote is all at once, so here goes! Just remember to review, okay? They're very important chapters!  
  
*~*~*  
  
The sunlight hit James's face unmercifully, shining brightly in through the window and shaking him from his deep sleep. He groaned, turning over, and groaned again, this time at the horrendous thumping in his head. He could smell brandy, and it didn't take much of a genius to guess where the headache had come from after that.  
  
Pushing himself into a sitting position, he looked about the chamber, his eyes falling on a neat pile of clothes at the end of the bed. So . . . someone had been kind enough to bring him up and undress him last night, he mused, wondering who it could have been. Not Jack Sparrow or Will Turner, certainly. The last thing he clearly remembered was Marin pulling him to his feet and . . .  
  
His eyes widened in consternation as the entire evening came back to him. He lay back in self-disgust, angry that he had allowed himself to get so drunk that the only sober member of their party had had to manhandle him upstairs and into bed. It was only made worse by the fact that it had been Marin.  
  
James threw back the covers, steadfastly ignoring the headache as he went about his morning ablutions, thinking back over the end of the evening. Standing before the mirror as he put his wig on, he was hit by the sudden memory of her fingers against his forehead, brushing his hair away gently. And another memory, more hazy, of a song . . . something about Erin.  
  
A faint smile touched his lips. She had sung his mother's song to him. After all the trouble he had put her through getting him up to bed, and then tucking him in, she had still been prepared to sit with him as he fell asleep, singing him a song he had not heard since her father died. She really was a tender-hearted girl, not at all the sort he would have expected to live a life of piracy.  
  
He nodded to himself in the mirror, satisfied with his appearance and ignoring the throbbing in his side as he strode to the door. He stepped out onto the landing, and almost sent Marin toppling down the stairs. He reached out to catch her, feeling his cheeks redden as the unwanted memories of the night before once again flooded his mind.  
  
She smiled up at him, seemingly at ease with him despite his appalling behaviour.  
  
'Good morning, James,' she said softly, as though she knew what a terrible headache he was suffering from. 'Did you sleep well?'  
  
He nodded curtly, embarrassed that she had witnessed him so inebriated and yet was still unashamed to associate with him.  
  
'Well enough,' he said shortly, turning to walk down the stairs.  
  
He missed the intrigued smile that curved her lips as she followed him down, hoping that if he didn't mention the evening before, it would just go away. Marin couldn't help but be amused at his obvious self-denial of his actions, not understanding why he seemed so awkward with himself that morning. She had seen enough drunken sailors to know that most of what he had said the night before had been truth, and saw no reason for him to be ashamed, especially since most of what he had said had been so very endearing.  
  
They passed out into the garden, where Jack was leaning against the wall and watching the ships sail across the harbour. He nodded to them in greeting, recognising all the signs of a high-class hangover in the commodore as James nodded back, feeling as though the top of his head was about to come off.  
  
Marin moved to stand beside the pirate as her cousin wandered through the dilapidated bushes towards the garden proper, where she knew there was a bench he could relax on and carefully go over what he could remember of the night before.  
  
She glanced up at Jack, who seemed a little uneasy with her this morning.  
  
'What's wrong with you today?' she asked. 'And don't try to tell me you've got a hangover.'  
  
Jack smiled faintly, knowing her confidence came from seeing Elias drink far more than either of them had the night before and awake with a clear head the next day. He shifted uncomfortably, trying not to invade her personal space.  
  
'No, my head is in full working order,' he assured her, unable to meet her eyes.  
  
It was possibly the first time he had ever been ashamed of himself for the way he treated a woman, especially when he had done so very little. Marin had dealt with him masterfully the night before, and he was grateful to her for resisting the impulse to open the door again when he passed out. He'd remained slumped outside her door until Elias had staggered up, picking him up so they could mutually support one another up the third flight of steps.  
  
Marin was watching him with an amused smile, making him wonder if she had suddenly developed an ability to read minds.  
  
'So . . . ?' she prompted, wanting to know if he remembered the night before.  
  
Jack swallowed, looking everywhere but at her.  
  
'And I would like to offer my apologies for my behaviour last night,' he said, running his words together in the hopes that she would accept the apology and drop the subject.  
  
Marin laughed softly, slipping a little closer to him.  
  
'Why apologise?' she asked. 'I found it all rather flattering, actually.'  
  
Jack froze. He hadn't expected that as an answer, definitely not when he clearly remembered her shutting her bedroom door in his face. In the normal way of things, she should have either shouted at him, or just ignored any allusion to the incident. She certainly wasn't supposed to take it as a compliment. Not that he minded, of course. It was just a confusing way of taking what he had done.  
  
'Well, I can assure you it won't happen again,' he said firmly, hoping this was what she wanted to hear.  
  
Marin's smile widened slightly as he coughed uncomfortably, suddenly aware that she had embarrassed the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow with a single comment. She turned away to look out across the harbour, and he could have sworn he heard her mutter,  
  
'Shame.'  
  
He stared, unseeing, at the water, shocked at her easy acceptance of his drunken advances. This wasn't how it was supposed to go, he realised. He was supposed to apologise and then start again with the whole wooing scenario, not let himself be teased by the very woman he wanted so very much.  
  
And yet, somehow, some part of him found this situation very amusing. He sighed. It was the part of him he had a tendency to ignore. Emotions weren't something you paid much attention to if you were a pirate. They tended to get in the way. But the emotional side of him had found Marin's reaction to his behaviour very funny indeed, found her amusement attractive even as she teased him. It just didn't make sense, he thought. But then, love wasn't known for its sense.  
  
He blinked. Where had that thought come from? Who said anything about love? He liked the girl, admittedly he liked her very much, but he wasn't in love with her. Was he? Jack frowned, looking around his own mind to find answers to his questions. He thought of her almost constantly, aware of a dull ache within him when she was out of his sight. She would fit comfortably in his arms once they were both divested of all weapons. He smiled when she smiled, enjoying his ability to entertain her. When he had seen her, bloodied and bruised, he had wanted to beat the tar out of anyone who had been involved in hurting his Marin.  
  
His Marin. Without realising it, he had been thinking of her as his Marin for days now, ever since Elias told him she wasn't spoken for. Now Norrington was out of the picture, he had no rival for her love . . . and it was her love he wanted. Captain Jack Sparrow, feared captain of the Black Pearl, was suddenly aware that he longed for her loving companionship above all else. Even the Pearl. He would give up all he had worked for, he realised, just to keep his Marin by his side.  
  
Her voice cut into his thoughts, ripping him away from his unexpected revelation.  
  
'Jack? Are you sure you're alright?'  
  
He smiled down at her faintly worried expression, wrapping his arm about her shoulders as he had done countless times before. This time, however, he was achingly aware of how she moulded softly against him, her hand reaching up to hold his hip lightly. Just being aware of that unconsciously intimate touch set his blood on fire, and he had to exert massive control over his impulses. The last thing he wanted now was to frighten her away, just when he'd realised how much he needed her.  
  
Marin glanced up at him, sensing something had changed. His arm about her shoulders seemed somehow more possessive than it ever had before, though there was no change to the way it rested against her. He was gazing down at her with an unreadable expression, a sultry look in his eyes that seemed to warm her from within. What was wrong with her? She'd never reacted to him like this before, and was unsure how to cope with the alien feelings growing inside her.  
  
A thin cry broke the tense silence around them as young Matthew Turner announced to the world his wish to be fed. Jack glanced up at the window, where they could just see Will, half-asleep, wandering past to lift the screaming baby from his cradle. Marin laughed softly to herself.  
  
'I wonder how long it'll take for them to get used to that,' she mused.  
  
Jack grinned.  
  
'Probably as long as it takes for the little one to grow out of it,' he suggested as the wailing ceased above them. 'I should think young William will be down shortly for his breakfast, don't you?'  
  
Marin smiled at his light tone, letting him lead her into the house to prepare something for Will to take up to his wife. Even though this something between them had suddenly grown, she couldn't see Jack Sparrow changing for anyone, least of all her. And why should he? She loved him just the way he was. 


	21. A First Class Cover Up

Elias leant back in his chair, listening as Marin went over Dugan's instructions with him patiently. The little lad had two different messages to give to the crews of the Pearl and the Dragon, both of which were as important as the other. They were preparing to go after the Maris, something that wouldn't be too difficult, since she was lingering beyond the headland for the Dragon to venture out.  
  
Dugan nodded slowly, letting his friend's words sink in.  
  
'So I'm tae tell Mr Gibbs tae lay off in sight o' the Maris and join the Dragon when she engages wi' Danielson,' he said thoughtfully. 'And old Hopkins is tae hang aboot in harbour until the cap'n and you get on board. Cap'n Jack'll be joining Gibbs on board the Pearl the morn the fighting starts. Aye?'  
  
Marin grinned, proud of him for remembering both messages.  
  
'Aye, you've got it,' she told him. 'And tell them to gather their crews together sooner rather than later.'  
  
'How big do you think my heid is?' he demanded comically, committing this extra bit to memory along with the rest. 'Right, well, I'd best be off then. Wouldn't want tae forget all this noo, would I?'  
  
He slipped from the room, throwing a quick salute to James where he sat going over the plans with Will.  
  
The commodore had decided to go with them after Danielson, feeling the murder of his cousin keenly despite only learning of his relation to Delaney mere days before. He would take the Dauntless out to 'patrol the waters here abouts', and the Dragon would tag on behind. With any luck, Danielson would set on the Dragon, unaware that the Pearl was coming up on his other side. James was to keep the Dauntless out of the fight, only getting involved if the Maris appeared to be gaining the upper hand. At least, that was the plan.  
  
'Do you really think this will work?' he asked Elias. 'A man such as Danielson is not likely to surrender. He'll scuttle his ship to avoid losing his locket.'  
  
The old pirate nodded wearily, seeing the sense in the naval officer's assessment of their treacherous cousin.  
  
'I know that,' he agreed. 'We'll have to be quick in boarding her, or we could lose what we're fighting for. But if losing the locket means Danielson's death also, it's a risk I'm willing to take.'  
  
'And me,' Marin added. 'I owe him for his liberties the last time we met.'  
  
Elias turned to look at her where she stood by the window, watching Dugan hurry down into the town.  
  
'What makes you think ye'll be going with us, lovely?' he asked her, surprised that she would want any part of this.  
  
She fixed him with a no nonsense stare.  
  
'What makes you think you could stop me?' she shot back at him.  
  
Elias sighed, sitting up.  
  
'Look, Marin, I know yer a good fighter and all, but yer very young and Danielson is not one to let a past transgression go unpunished,' he said, trying to convince her to stay behind without sounding too worried for her safety.  
  
'Then I'll fight him,' she said simply. 'You're not leaving me behind, Elias.'  
  
James leant forward.  
  
'I'm afraid that in all conscience I cannot allow a lady to be involved in this battle,' he told her, knowing as soon as she turned steely grey eyes on him that he shouldn't have got involved.  
  
'Do you see a lady in this room?' she asked icily. 'I certainly don't. And I believe, in your own words, cousin, I am a pirate and therefore well deserving of a place in this battle.'  
  
He leant back, conceding her point. Elias glanced up at Jack, but the younger pirate was having none of it. He wasn't going to let anything spoil his chances with her, even if it meant a sleepless night before a fight worrying himself sick over her safety.  
  
'Sorry, mate, I'm not getting involved in this one,' he said warily. 'You're on your own.'  
  
Sighing again, Elias turned back to his stubborn shipmate, unwilling to allow her a chance to put herself in danger once again.  
  
'Marin, please, stay here where it's safe,' he said, resorting to pleading to make her see sense. 'I don't know what I'd do if I lost ye.'  
  
She softened under this, moving to kneel before him, her hands on his knees.  
  
'Elias, you know if the situation was any different I'd be only too happy to obey you,' she told him gently, and he knew, even before she continued, that he had lost the argument. 'But Danielson murdered my parents and left me for dead. If nothing else, I deserve to be a part of his downfall. He's taken too much for me to stand idly by while others take my vengeance for me.'  
  
The old pirate looked down into her eyes, seeing the last of her childlike ideals disappear. She had resisted the darker paths of piracy all her life, and yet now the only way justice could be done was to resort to vengeance and murder. She had accepted this willingly, and he could see that already the acts which were to follow would leave a stain on her innocent soul that she would never be free of.  
  
'Aye, then, me lovely,' he said sorrowfully. 'I cannot stop ye. Ye'll join us in battle.'  
  
James watched, fascinated, as she leant forward into her guardian's arms, thanking him without words for this concession to her stubborn nature, and once again was struck with a deep seated sense of gratitude that he had been accepted as a part of this family. Marin glanced up at him, seeing a myriad of emotion flicker past his eyes.  
  
'Do I have your permission also, cousin?' she asked, moving to kneel before him. 'I can hardly fight alongside you if you're going to spend the whole battle telling me I shouldn't be there, now, can I?'  
  
He smiled faintly, feeling that strange tug at his heart that told him he would worry for her until the smoke had cleared and Danielson's body lay lifeless on the deck.  
  
'How can I refuse when you put it so pleasantly?' he murmured. 'As long as you promise not to get yourself killed, I see no reason why you should not join us.'  
  
Marin returned his smile, seeing the concern in his eyes for her well- being. As she had done with Elias, she leant forward into his embrace, her chin on his shoulder as she held him tightly.  
  
'Thank you, James,' she whispered softly, feeling him relax into her arms faster than she would have expected.  
  
Elias looked up at his companions, seeing the same determination in their faces as he held in his soul. This was one fight they would not lose. By the time they were done, the only thing Danielson would be remembered for would be the efficient way they had rid themselves of him. He would no longer prey on an innocent girl, using memories he had and she didn't against her. If he had to, Elias would kill him himself.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Commodore James Norrington watched from the battlements of the fort as a small boat rowed swiftly from the harbour, apparently into the bare ocean. As far as the eye could see, there was no ship for it to meet with. But James knew Jack Sparrow of old. The Black Pearl would be there, waiting just off the headland to collect her captain.  
  
His gaze shifted across the harbour to where the Red Dragon rolled gently in the swells. There was no sign in her sails that she was ready to sail, but he knew that as soon as men began to board the Dauntless, preparing her to sail, the Dragon would come alive with crewmen, all anxious for the battle to commence.  
  
He turned away, calling for someone to fetch Captain Gillette to him.  
  
'And gather together the crew of the Dauntless,' he ordered. 'Have them ready her to sail.'  
  
Men rushed to obey him, a little thrown by the commodore's sudden wish to explore the waters around Jamaica. The marines were sent back to barracks to pack for an excursion out into the ocean, as were the officers. In the midst of all the bustle he had created, James waited calmly for the man he had sent for.  
  
Captain Evan Gillette was a bit of a novelty in the Navy, indispensable as he was. His father had been a Frenchman, one of many who had landed somewhat unfortunately on the coast of Wales after a skirmish with a British ship had resulted in them being sunk. The locals had accepted him into their community, instead of just outright killing him, and he had married one of the young women. The result had been Evan, who had then grown up to join the Navy. Strangely enough, there weren't many Welshmen of French parentage in His Majesty's Royal Navy.  
  
James heard the captain coming long before he reached his commanding officer's side, his broad Welsh accent demanding of everyone he passed just what on God's green earth was going on. He heard the marines dutifully side- step the captain's questions, directing him up to where the commodore waited.  
  
Gillette threw him a smart salute, his features composed into some semblance of calm.  
  
'Good morning, sir,' he greeted James. 'A fine day.'  
  
Stephen nodded absently, still gazing out at where the row boat was just disappearing around the headland.  
  
'Yes, a fine day,' he said faintly, his eyes on the boat until it was whisked out of sight.  
  
He turned to the captain, seeing all the signs of an impatient man holding himself firmly in check. After all, he should know them. It had taken he himself years to learn to control his emotions whilst on duty.  
  
'Gillette, I will be taking the Dauntless out for a turn about the island this afternoon,' he told the younger man, watching as Gillette's eyes widened in surprise.  
  
'Whatever for, sir?'  
  
The commodore turned to look out over the bustle in the fort.  
  
'I'm feeling a little restricted on land,' he said, truthfully, since he did hate being on land as much as he was. 'And the Nightingale is in to have her bottom scraped, so the waters around us are unprotected. It seemed the best way to get over both problems.'  
  
Gillette's eyes narrowed. He had known Commodore Norrington for over six years now, and could tell a first class cover up when he saw one. The man's expression was identical to the one he had worn when he reported to Vice- Admiral Farnborough about the business with the dead pirates. Still, not one to question his orders in public, he accepted the commodore's explanation with one proviso.  
  
'It would appear so, sir,' he said, carefully ignoring the Nightingale as she slipped smoothly into the harbour, heading straight for the dry dock. 'However, sir, duty dictates that I am the commander of the Dauntless and must authorise her excursions.'  
  
James nodded calmly.  
  
'I know that, Gillette,' he said wearily. 'That's why you'll be coming with me.'  
  
'But who will look after the fort while we are both gone, sir?' Gillette asked, hoping he had caught out his commanding officer with this at least.  
  
He was given one of the most sardonic looks he had ever received from the commodore.  
  
'Captain Leighton will take command in my absence,' he was told firmly. 'No more questions, Gillette. You have a ship to make ready.'  
  
Defeated, Gillette stood to attention briefly, saluting once again.  
  
'Aye, sir,' he said, unable to shake the feeling that things were not what they seemed here.  
  
As he hurried back down into the fort, and down to the dock, James's attention was caught by another row boat drifting across the harbour towards the Dragon where she lay anchored. There were three figures in the stern, one of which was waving to him. The messy red hair was enough to tell him who it was. He smiled secretively. This would definitely be a day to remember. 


	22. No Quarter

Marin stood on the forecastle of the Red Dragon, enjoying the wind that blew sea salt through her hair. The Dauntless sailed a few hundred yards ahead of them, and she could see James by the helm, his eyes fixed on the horizon. For the first time in her life, Marin felt as though she was going to throw up on board ship.  
  
It wasn't seasickness, she knew that for certain. It was a mindless, crippling, stomach churning fear of the battle she would be fighting in a very short while. It was the paralysing terror that on this day, she could lose her life, or worse, the lives of those she held most dear. Oh, she had fought in skirmishes on the waves before, many times. But she had never been a part of such a concerted effort to rid the world of one man.  
  
A distant rumble made her jump, sending her gaze out across the waves around them to where two ships could be seen in the distance, smoke rising around them as their canons blazed. She needed no telescope to know that the Pearl had engaged the Stella Maris, though why she could not tell.  
  
Boots thumped up the deck behind her, and she felt Elias take his place at her back, peering through his eyeglass at the warring ships. He swore.  
  
'Make sail, lads, let's get some speed on the old lady!' he shouted, and Marin heard the scramble behind her as the crew hurried to set more sails. 'Run out the port guns!'  
  
On board the Dauntless, she could see the same tasks being performed, with no less efficiency than on the Dragon. But she cared nothing for the men who worked feverishly around her to catch up to the skirmishing ships. All she could think of was Jack.  
  
The plan had been that he was to lay off the Maris, but apparently Danielson had given him no other choice but to engage. Marin's imagination was throwing up images of the Pearl being blasted to pieces, boarded and her crew slaughtered. She could not see how Jack's crew could stand against the Maris' crew, since they were desperate men and easily outnumbered the black-sailed ship.  
  
Elias grasped her shoulder, sensing her heart-wrenching fear for the man she loved. He held her tightly as the Dragon picked up speed, slipping past the Dauntless as they went to the Pearl's aid.  
  
'Hold on, Jack lad,' he murmured, his eyes fixed on the ships as boarding planks were lowered. 'Just a bit longer.'  
  
*~*~*  
  
As the canon fire had echoed back to them across the open sea, James had been unable to prevent himself rushing to the side to stare in horror at the smoke filled scene. Despite himself, he was fond of Jack Sparrow, and had no wish to see the irascible pirate die in a fight not his own. He glanced back at the Dragon, seeing clearly the look of undisguised terror on Marin's face where she stood, transfixed, on the forecastle.  
  
He heard himself give the order for more speed, the sailors around him rushing to obey. They had never seen him so affected by the sight of a sea battle before, and this tense impatient commodore was not something they wished to see again. The men had come to rely on his impassive expression to keep themselves in check, and to see that he had lost it was not the most encouraging sight in the world.  
  
James watched as the Dragon began to gain on the Dauntless, gauging the distance between them with an expert eye as they drew closer to the battle scene. He turned to the sailors, shouting his orders with the commanding air he had learnt in his early days as a captain.  
  
'Heave to and take in sail!' he ordered. 'Lay off the battle!'  
  
He strode down onto the main deck, calling his officers to him.  
  
'Captain Gillette, you will anchor here and await further orders,' he told the Welshman. 'Not one shot is to be fired from this ship unless directly engaged, do you understand me?'  
  
Confused, but not one to disobey a direct order, Gillette nodded.  
  
'Aye, sir,' he said hesitantly. 'Are we to lay off and watch them kill one another?'  
  
James frowned at the younger man, sickened by his assumption that the three ships would destroy one another.  
  
'If that is your wish, Captain,' he said, moving to the starboard side as the Dragon slipped past them.  
  
He could see Elias and Marin hurrying to and fro, putting in place the final preparations as they went into attack mode. Turning to a sailor beside him, James gestured to the rope he held in his hand.  
  
'If you would, seaman,' he asked, and the man obeyed, looking shocked to see the commanding officer lay hands on the working parts of the ship.  
  
James hauled himself up onto the side, nodding to Gillette, and swung across to the Dragon as she passed, landing with a thud on the pirate ship's main deck. Gillette rushed to the side, the other officers in tow.  
  
'Idiot!' he exclaimed. 'What the devil does he think he's doing?'  
  
Midshipman Fazackerly, a boy of about twelve, coughed, saluting Gillette smartly.  
  
'Commodore Norrington has transferred his pennant, sir,' he said, unaware that this was not perhaps the wisest thing to say in the circumstances.  
  
Gillette gave him a withering look, glancing up at his companions.  
  
'Well, gentlemen, it appears that now we wait,' he said bitterly, glaring across the water as the Dragon sailed past with his commodore on board.  
  
Marin ran down to meet her cousin, shocked that he had chosen to take quite such an involved part in the actual conflict. He smiled grimly down at her, moving to join Elias on the poop as they approached the Stella Maris on the opposite side to the Pearl. They could hear the frantic orders being shouted aboard Danielson's ship as the pirates rushed to man the port guns to defend themselves against the primed Dragon.  
  
James peered across to the Pearl, seeing Jack and Will back to back, fighting off anyone who approached them with efficiency, if not finesse. Beside him, Marin breathed a quick sigh of relief, before her gaze fell on Danielson. Their traitorous cousin was standing firm by the helm of his ship, barking orders to his men as the Dragon began to draw alongside.  
  
The guns blazed, splintering the Maris' side as the pirates within fought to prime their guns in response. James heard Elias give the order to board, and knew that the fight was hardly begun. He grasped Marin about the waist as she swung across to the Maris, one of the first to land amongst the crew they had set out to annihilate. Back to back with his little cousin, he lashed out at the pirates who approached, aware that those of Danielson's crew who had boarded the Pearl were returning to protect their ship.  
  
Elias thudded down onto the poop-deck, just feet from his enemy as Danielson turned, drawing his sabre calmly as the fighting raged about them. The younger pirate laughed at his opponent derisively.  
  
'Do you really think you can take me on, you old dragon?' he sneered, his eyes sharp as Elias approached, his own sword drawn.  
  
The blades ran together for a moment, each man testing the other for any hidden advantage.  
  
'I see you let the girl come,' Danielson continued, hoping to goad Elias into attacking. 'Couldn't bear to leave her at home, could you?'  
  
His blade flashed suddenly, blocked easily as Elias moved to avoid the thrust.  
  
'Tell me, is she any good?' the captain of the Maris asked insolently. 'I should so hate to take the spoils only to find she's not up to any standard.'  
  
Elias' jaw clenched as he tried to keep a hold on his surging temper. Outnumbered and outgunned, and the bastard still insisted on insulting the only person Elias held dear.  
  
'Ah,' Danielson said suddenly, deliberately misinterpreting his expression. 'She's a virgin, yes? Oh well, then I thank you. It's not often a man can enjoy first rights.'  
  
With a howl of fury, Elias unleashed his temper, falling upon his treacherous cousin with all the anger within him fuelling his attack. Danielson fell back under his blows, surprised that the older man had so much fury locked up inside. He quickly recovered, giving ground reluctantly as the attack settled into a fight to the death.  
  
Jack swore as he careered back into the bulkhead, aware that the guns had stopped. Glancing about, he saw the men who had boarded his beloved Pearl were returning to the Maris, and beyond her lay the Dragon. With a triumphant grin, he bellowed for his crew to rally with him, leaping up onto the planks Danielson's crew had so thoughtfully left in place, Will at his side. The two men threw themselves into the heaving mass of scuffling men, sabres flashing and pistols waving.  
  
Marin withdrew her dirk from one man's leg, knocking him back against the mast with enough force to stun him. She glanced up at where Danielson and Elias fought, feeling her heart leap into her mouth. Elias' sword lay embedded in the deck, Danielson's finger on the trigger of his pistol.  
  
Danielson grinned at his beaten opponent.  
  
'You know, I'm disappointed in you, Elias,' he said conversationally. 'I would have thought you'd put up more of a fight.'  
  
Elias swallowed the blood that was welling up from his bitten tongue, glaring in hatred at the man who stood before him.  
  
'I should have known you wouldn't keep to the code,' he spat. 'You're a traitor, Danielson, just like your fathers before you.'  
  
Danielson's eyes dulled in mute fury at this insult.  
  
'Well, at least no one will be able to count you among their ancestors,' he hissed.  
  
The bullet hit Elias' stomach, throwing him back against the wheel in agonising pain. As he slipped to the deck, he heard a familiar voice scream in desperate horror.  
  
'NO!'  
  
As if from nowhere, a foot levelled a kick at Danielson's head, knocking him backwards as he stumbled to keep his balance. Uncaring now if she lived or died, Marin leapt after him, seeing nothing but the man who had killed her father, and shot the man who raised her.  
  
Will's head snapped up on hearing the familiar voice, and he was horrified to see Marin taking on Danielson by herself, Elias slumped against the helm as he pressed a weak hand to the wound in his stomach. Jack was nowhere to be seen, struggling amid a mass of Danielson's crew to get the commodore out of a spot of bother with four of them. Will threw his attacker backwards, taking to the rigging to assist Marin in her desperate fight.  
  
Jack slashed his way through the opposing pirates, fully aware that Norrington appeared to have the entire situation under control. He thought he'd heard Marin scream over the shouts around him, but had not been able to glance up from his own private struggle as he approached the commodore's side.  
  
James ducked a high thrust, driving his sword home as he regained his feet, vaguely aware of Jack's approach. He had no idea where Marin had disappeared to, only that she had gone from his back some time before and had not returned. He could only hope she had not been hurt. Another sabre flashed in his direction and he stepped back to avoid it, straight into the path of a descending blade.  
  
'Commodore, move!' he heard Jack shout as he disposed of the man attacking, turning to see the blade swish past him, missing his arm by mere inches.  
  
As the huge man raised his sword again, James heard a distant musket shot, and the pirate's chest erupted in blood and flesh. Shocked, he turned, seeking the main mast of the Dauntless. Sure enough, nestled in the crow's nest were three sharp-shooters, all aiming for the men around him. His eyes widened as he realised they were likely to shoot Jack if they could, and he pushed his way to the pirate's back, obscuring the perfect target he had presented them.  
  
'My thanks,' Jack panted, parrying two men's swords. 'I had wondered when you were going to notice them.'  
  
James smiled tautly, once again concentrating on the men who seemed determined to spill his life's blood.  
  
Marin staggered backwards as Danielson's hand smashed into her cheek, her head spinning in an effort not to pass out. She barely managed to raise her sabre to block a blow that would have sliced her head from her neck, once again pushed back from her attacker by the sheer force of his strength. Danielson was giving no quarter, fully aware that this small woman was no match for his skills. He grinned down at her as she found her feet again, raising his sabre once more to finish her off.  
  
Marin's fingers found her dirk, throwing it accurately into his upper arm as he tensed for what he thought would be the final blow. Danielson swore violently, ripping the blade from his arm and slamming it down, point first, into the deck beside Elias' sword. His sword arm was suddenly aflame with pain, but he refused to back off as Marin stumbled backwards, falling to the deck as she caught her feet in Elias' legs.  
  
He grinned confidently, seeing the pure hatred in her eyes as she gazed up at him, bereft of any weapon to defend herself with. With a harsh laugh, he raised the sabre, bringing it down to cleave the defiant girl in two.  
  
With a sharp metallic clash, Will's sword met Danielson's just above Marin's head as he leapt down from the ropes above them. He growled at the surprised pirate, throwing him back purposefully so he landed on his injured arm, eliciting a howl of pain from the furious man. As Marin crawled to Elias' side, lifting the wounded man's head into her lap, Will advanced on their enemy, feeling his own blood boil at the injury done to his friends.  
  
James breathed a sigh of relief, seeing Will leap down to Marin's rescue just in time. Beside him, Jack was still fighting in grim silence, ignoring everything around him as he concentrated on surviving the battle. Neither man could afford to let his guard down. Though outnumbered, Danielson's men were well-trained, good fighters, and they knew they were fighting for their lives.  
  
This time, it was Danielson who staggered backwards, bleeding and in pain, as he faced a man much younger and fresher than himself. Will drew back his fist, punching the pirate viciously as he adjusted his grip on his sword. The older man's head snapped back as he brought up his sabre, now desperate to defend himself. Will batted the blade to one side, making sure Danielson was looking into his eyes as he held the pirate against the side.  
  
'Parley,' the wounded man croaked, panic filling his being as he realised this boy truly intended to kill him.  
  
Will's eyes narrowed in anger. He gripped the locket where it hung about Danielson's neck, tugging it free as he settled the point of his sword against the man's stomach.  
  
'No quarter,' he growled, thrusting up with one smooth movement.  
  
Danielson jerked, his hands clenching convulsively as his life's blood began to drain from his body. Will pulled the sword from him, and turned away as the pirate captain crumpled to the deck, lifeless. 


	23. The Parting Glass

The ships lay silent in the water, still rolling gently with the waves as the men took note of what had happened that day. Danielson was defeated, those few left of his crew locked in the brig of the Dauntless. The Stella Maris lay abandoned in the water, a ghost ship, there for anyone who wanted her. A little way away lay the Pearl, battered from her struggle, but easily repaired as the crew worked to stop up the holes near her waterline.  
  
On board the Dragon, though, no work was being done. The pirates sat about, restless, aimless, staring helplessly out across the Caribbean. An air of eternal patience lay over the silent ship. No words were spoken, no celebrations made. Sorrow hung over them, from bilge to main top.  
  
Elias lay back in his bunk, pale and listless as he watched Marin wipe the cold sweat from his brow. He smiled faintly at her, pleased to see that those he counted as friends had survived the battle. His wound throbbed dully, coursing white-hot pain through his limbs as he looked on those gathered around him.  
  
Will and Jack hung back by the door to the great cabin, both unsure as to whether they were welcome in these dark moments. Neither could quite believe what was happening, convinced that the old pirate would be his old self again the next morning with a cheery laugh for their worries the night before. But it was a false hope, they both knew, and there was nothing anyone could do to prevent Elias from slipping away from them.  
  
James stood a little closer to the bunk, his eyes fixed on the darkness outside, trying to ignore the pain in his heart as his cousin hovered between life and death. Bitter anger ran through him, chilled by the knowledge that he had found his family only to lose one half of it so soon. He could hear Marin's laboured breathing as she fought not to cry, knowing that he could not let her slip away without Elias' presence in her life.  
  
The pirate reached up, pulling Marin's hands away from his face with a weak hand.  
  
'Nay, lass, there's no need for that,' he said gently. 'I've been filthy all my life, I'd rather not meet my maker any other way. He might not recognise me.'  
  
She couldn't laugh at his joke, her features twisting into a grimace as she held back the flood of tears that threatened to spill over. He smiled tenderly at his little girl, holding her trembling hand in his own even as he addressed the others about him.  
  
'Master William.'  
  
Will glanced up, stepping forward to stand close to the dying man as he looked up at him.  
  
'My gratitude to ye,' Elias said softly. 'Ye spilt the blood that those others who share it wouldn't have to. 'Tis a good thing. Blood be thicker than water. Though he were a traitor, he were still my cousin, and it would have pained my heart to see his blood split by his own. My thanks to ye.'  
  
Will nodded curtly, fighting not to let himself feel the sorrow in the cabin as keenly as he did.  
  
'Anyone would have done the same,' he told the pale man. 'And I have a lot to be thankful to you for.'  
  
Elias' smile was indulgent.  
  
'If ye're referring to the incident with yer wife, ye ask her what she kept threatening me with while Jack was off looking for ye,' he said, amused. 'I wasn't keeping her safe for ye, I was protecting me own neck.'  
  
Unable to reply to his joking attitude, Will nodded once again, turning to resume his place in the shadows.  
  
'I'm not done with ye yet,' Elias said, his voice firm in the silence that shrouded them. 'Come closer, lad.'  
  
Will moved to kneel beside Marin, touched deeply by the unshed tears that sparkled in her eyes.  
  
'The Dragon is yers,' Elias told him softly, ignoring Marin's intake of breath. 'Ye've earned her, and now ye shall have her. No arguments, lad. I've no wish to leave this life with angry words on my conscience.'  
  
The younger man was shocked, grateful to the old man for his generosity. The Red Dragon would never be anyone's but Elias', he knew, but he would captain her for the pirate as long as the crew wished him to. Elias reached into his shirt, withdrawing his locket and tugging it from around his neck. He dropped the heavy piece into Will's hand, silencing his protests with a gesture.  
  
'This be yours now, Will,' he said solemnly. 'Begun by blood, by blood undone, as certain people would say.'  
  
Will tensed, recognising the words of the blood ritual Barbossa had tried to put him through. Elias nodded, seeing the recognition in his eyes.  
  
'There is sense in the words,' he murmured. 'Those of my blood began this and now I am to put an end to it. Ye did what I could not, boy. My share of the treasure is yers.'  
  
Will frowned, once again silenced by Elias' pleading gaze. Unable to deny a dying man's wish, he closed his fingers over the locket, stepping away as Elias beckoned for Jack to take his place.  
  
The irascible pirate was unusually subdued as he moved forward, his face blank for fear of showing just how much he felt for the pirate who had shaped him when he first ran away to sea.  
  
'We've come a long way, Jack lad,' Elias rasped, hissing as a surge of pain ran through him.  
  
Jack's hand closed over his as the old pirate sought something to grip to tide him through the agony that ripped through his suddenly frail body. He was shocked to find that the strength that had made Elias legendary in these waters was all but gone, seeping from him along with his spirit. Beside him, Marin watched in frozen grief, unable to tear her eyes from the man who had been her father and her friend for so many years.  
  
Slowly the pain subsided, and Elias let out a derogatory chuckle for the interruption. His eyes fixed on Jack's once more, seeming to see deep into the younger man's soul.  
  
'I know ye of old, Jack lad, I know yer moods and yer feelings,' he told him, seeing the kohl-rimmed eyes widen as Jack realised just what the old man was telling him.  
  
Elias reached out to take Marin's hand gently, placing it firmly into Jack's out-stretched fingers. He closed his hand over them both, holding them together as Jack's hand tightened on the girl's trembling fingers.  
  
'Take care of my girl, Jack,' he said, a note of question in his voice. 'Swear to me ye won't ever let her be alone again.'  
  
Jack swallowed hard against the lump that had risen in his throat, feeling it settle over his heart as he nodded firmly.  
  
'I swear, Fitz,' he whispered, glancing up at Marin to see a single tear roll forlornly down her cheek.  
  
He longed to draw her into his embrace right then, but knew this was her time with Elias and he had no right to interrupt it. The old pirate transferred his piercing gaze to his little shipmate, feeling the sting of the good bye as she hiccuped back her tears.  
  
'I want ye to promise me, lovely,' he told her tenderly. 'Promise me ye'll not push young Jack aside. Stay with him . . . for me, if not for yerself.'  
  
Marin's lip trembled as she answered, her voice as steady as her shaking fingers.  
  
'I promise.'  
  
He nodded, satisfied, and glanced over their heads to where James watched in detached sorrowful silence.  
  
'And ye, cousin,' he raised his voice, the tone commanding despite his weakness. 'Yer head of the family now. One thing I would ask of ye . . . don't let them break their word.'  
  
James smiled, seeing the manipulation that was going on. He nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Elias smiled, relaxing back against his single pillow with a grateful sigh.  
  
'Tis done, then,' he murmured. 'Never let it be said I left my own untended.'  
  
He closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the coldness begin to creep over him. With a gentle wave of his hand, he dismissed them.  
  
'I would like to spend my last moments with my family,' he said softly, and they obediently left. Elias grinned as the last of them reached the door. 'That includes ye now, commodore.'  
  
Abashed, James stepped away from the door, leaving it open at Elias' request. He'd sailed with the same crew nigh on twenty years, he said, they deserved to be a part of his last evening with them. The candlelight flickered off the bulkheads, illuminating the sorrowful scene as Marin laid her head on her guardian's hand, longing for him to live and yet unwilling to hold him back.  
  
Elias ran a tender hand over her hair, feeling her deep sorrow permeate into him as he thought back over his times with her. They had been among the happiest of his life, watching this little spark of a woman grow to maturity. He was glad he had been able to provide for her, even if it was just giving his permission for Jack to be her companion. He could think of no one better to look after his little girl.  
  
'Marin . . .'  
  
His voice was quiet, as if he had not the strength to speak louder. She leant close, ignoring the signs that told her his end was near.  
  
'Sing to me,' Elias breathed, a fond smile on his lips as she blinked in surprise. 'The Parting Glass . . . to bring me safe into the next world.'  
  
Drawing in a deep breath to steady her voice, Marin nodded, sitting back as James took a seat behind her. Elias held her hand lightly as she began to sing, her voice growing in strength as she continued.  
  
'Oh, all the money that e'er you've spent,  
  
You spent it in good company  
  
And all the harm that e'er you've done,  
  
Alas, it was to none but thee . . .'  
  
The melody filled the cabin, swirling around the heart-breaking scene as Elias relaxed back into his covers with a contented smile. James felt tears of his own well up in his eyes, unable to hold them back as they flowed, unchecked, down his cheeks.  
  
'And all you've done for want of wit  
  
To memory now, I can't recall,  
  
So fill to me the parting glass,  
  
Good night, and joy be with you . . .'  
  
Her voice cracked as her tears began to fall, constricting her throat mercilessly as she looked on Elias' pale face. His fingers tightened imperceptibly on her own.  
  
'No tears, lass, ye've another verse to go,' he mumbled, his voice nearly inaudible as he spurred her on.  
  
Marin took another deep breath, grateful as James reached out to grip her shoulder, the only thing he could think of to give her strength.  
  
'Oh, all the comrades that e'er you've had  
  
Are sorry for your going away,  
  
And all the sweethearts that e'er you had  
  
Would wish you one more day to stay . . .'  
  
As she sang, a gentle chorus of voices joined her, and James became aware of the stillness of the night, as the crew of the Red Dragon bid farewell to her captain in the only way they could.  
  
'But since it falls unto your lot  
  
That you should rise and we should not . . .'  
  
Marin felt the grip on her hand weaken, saw the head loll to one side in a sleep from which he would never waken. But Elias wanted her to sing him out, and she'd be damned if she was going to let him down, forcing the final phrase from her unwilling lips.  
  
'You'll gently rise, and we'll softly call,  
  
'Goodnight, and joy be with you' . . .'  
  
As the final note of the mournful melody drifted out into the night, all that could be heard on board the Red Dragon was the sound of a single girl, sobbing for the man who had given her so much and taken so little, dead by the hand of her father's murderer. 


	24. Friends Sleeping Young

A gentle breeze blew through the sails, ruffling the red hair of a young woman, moonlit as she huddled against the mast, hidden from the deck in the crow's nest of the Red Dragon. Marin could not stem the flood of tears that wracked her body, lost in a sea of memories she couldn't suppress as the enormity of what had happened hit her mercilessly.  
  
Elias was gone, resting now beneath the waves he had loved so well. No more would she hear his gruff laughter, or be welcome back on board with an embrace rough in its tender affection. How could she go on without him? For as far back as she could remember, he had been the constant presence in her life, the friend, the companion . . . the only father she had known. He had given years of his life to her, when he could as easily have left her to die, struggling in the warm waters amidst the wreckage of the merchantman.  
  
The moon seemed unjustly bright, shining down on the sorrowful girl with an obscenely cheerful light. What right had the moon to such cheer when her whole world had crumbled to dust in the space of a single evening? Elias had called her his light. What shelter was there now for a light in danger of sputtering out?  
  
Memories crowded in on her, not giving her a moment's peace as she fought to control her own emotions once again. Each time the tears ebbed for even a moment, another image of her beloved guardian would enter her mind and the flood began again, dripping from her nose and chin as she hugged herself, resting her aching head against the mast. Her fingers brushed the hilt of her dirk, and she smiled through the tears, remembering the day he had given it to her.  
  
She had been eight years old, just learning how to fight. Elias' sabre had proved too heavy for her juvenile hands to manage, and he refused to teach her with one of the rapiers they had taken from one or another ship. It was not a pirate's weapon, he'd insisted. So she'd struggled on, trying to build up her strength to lift the unyielding weapon, wanting to please him so very much. And then, finally, he had given up watching her struggle, producing a fine, long blade from his boot and giving it to her with a flourish. She had laughed at his long suffering expression, leaping up into his arms to thank him for such a gift as he spun her about the deck, uncaring if the crew looked on.  
  
Much good his lessons had done her, she thought bitterly. She hadn't even been able to take revenge for his injury, let alone prevent it from happening altogether. She should have been able to help him! And yet, in a way, it was good that she hadn't defeated Danielson. Elias would never have forgiven her for shedding blood, especially blood of his blood, as he would say.  
  
No one moved on the deck below, each too shocked by the loss of the captain even to sleep comfortably that night. Neither Jack nor James had returned to their ships, and Marin knew it was because they were afraid she was going to do something stupid. But even if she had the inclination to end her life, her promise to Elias would hold her back. She had sworn to remain by Jack's side, and she'd be damned if she was going to disobey the last request of her guardian.  
  
Elias had always been there, she realised. Even in those moments when he should have had other things on his mind, he was always in the background, watching her as she fumbled her way through whatever task had been set her. Again she smiled, remembering this time the bursts of bad temper he had been prone to, particularly when she had put herself in unnecessary danger.  
  
The incident that sprang to mind had happened during her sixth summer. She'd been with them for four years, fully accepted as one of the crew and an irrevocable part of the captain's life. The bo'sun had taken her up into the rigging to show her Port Smith from the sea, knowing that the view would excite the little girl. She remembered so clearly him telling her not to move from the crow's nest as he slipped along to secure one of the ropes that was flapping in the wind. Being the inquisitive child that she was, Marin hadn't obeyed him, venturing out along the spar itself. She didn't notice the lack of hand holds until a particularly violent pitch of the ship threw her forwards. If the bo'sun hadn't had the extremely sharp reflexes that made him so invaluable to the crew, she would have toppled to her death on the deck far below.  
  
Marin smiled. Elias had been furious, though not with her. He had seen her taken to his cabin, shutting the door behind the bewildered little girl before launching into a blistering attack on everything from the bo'sun's common sense to the lack of any propriety in his ancestry. Knowing the captain was just shaken from what had happened, the seaman had taken the reprimand in his stride, ignoring the insults rained on his head by the distracted man.  
  
Elias had been so protective of her. He'd kept her sheltered from the more gruesome aspects of his life until she was ready for them, refusing to let her take part in the murderous things he had done. He'd been the constant in her life, the one who woke her each morning, who tucked her in safe each night, who watched over her when she was ill . . . who loved her as only a parent could love a child.  
  
And now he was gone. No more ridiculous jokes made to lighten the mood, no more loud carousing in the taverns on land wherever they would dock. No more Elias. Marin scrubbed brutally at her eyes, willing the tears to stop, but to no avail. It seemed as though she was doomed to weep until there were no more tears to come.  
  
He had always loved her singing, making a point of teaching her a new song each week, until she had a fine enough repertoire to sing any song you could care to name, from the less known sea-shanties to the folk songs that reminded so many of the homes they had left behind. A haunting melody drifted through her mind, choking her breath as she tried to push it aside. She never wanted to remember the moment he had gone from her, slipping gently off to the sleep from which he would never wake as she sang the song he had requested from her. And yet, The Parting Glass would not leave her mind, awakening old memories she had thought forgotten and keeping those she wished to forget alive within her.  
  
Only hours before he had sat up in that bunk of his, telling her not to clean his face because he was afraid the Lord might not recognise him if he wasn't as dirty as he had always been. Now his body rested beneath the waves, wrapped up in a hammock for a shroud. Marin had witnessed many sea burials, but never had she seen a company of men so still and sorrowful.  
  
No words were spoken, for there were none that could express what the old pirate had been to so many people. Just a sharp silence, as they fought to prevent tears. The body had slipped quietly into the water, with hardly a splash. Unable to remain under so many people's eyes, knowing they expected her to crumble, Marin had run from those who would have comforted her, flailing desperately in the rigging as she clambered up to the isolation of the crow's nest.  
  
And here she was, crumbling as they had known she would, unable to stop tears that seemed as though they would flow forever as the wound in her heart rubbed dull pain through her suddenly fragile body. The arms she wrapped about herself could offer nothing in the way of comfort as she contemplated a life without the man who had made her who she was.  
  
There was a grunt of effort nearby, and she glanced up to see Jack scrambling up the rigging to sit beside her, his own eyes wet with tears. He didn't speak, or try to hold her, just sat in silence beside her, the warmth from his body reaching out to fight back the cold that seeped through her.  
  
'Why did it have to be him?' she asked suddenly, aware that her voice was harsh with sorrow.  
  
Jack swallowed, staring up at the moon.  
  
'Who knows, love?' he said softly. 'Maybe it was his time, maybe the good Lord finally decided he was too good for down here . . . there's nothing we can do that will bring him back.'  
  
He heard the hitch in her breath, glancing down to see fresh tears pouring down her face. It tore at his heart to see her in so much pain, but he knew she had to suffer it through. Nothing he could do or say would make it any easier for her, take the pain away. All he could do was be here, at her side as she walked the depths of her despair.  
  
She leant her head onto his shoulder, sobbing violently as the grief finally took over, blotting out all thought and sense. He moved, gathering her into his arms as she pressed her face into his chest, her slender body shaking as she cried the tears that needed to be cried. Her hands clutched at his shirt, holding the sturdy cloth in her tightly clenched fists as his hand moved to cradle the back of her head.  
  
'I want him back,' she sobbed brokenly, uncaring if he heard her or not.  
  
Jack grimaced, trying to hold back his own stabbing grief as he held her against the flood of sorrow that wracked her so deeply. He would give anything to see her safely through this, he knew, anything to take the pain away. But all he could do was wait, as the moon shone brightly down on a scene indescribable in its sorrow.  
  
*~*~*  
  
James leant forward on the table in the great cabin, his hands clasped together as he looked on each of his companions. He had called a family meeting, understanding implicitly that Elias would want them to get on with finding the treasure, rather than wallowing in their grief. He could not quite come to terms with his new status as head of the family, especially when he had only just found out he still had one. But Elias had passed on the mantle, and he must make best use of what he had.  
  
Will sat to his right, the solemn look that hung over his young features a stark reminder of what had happened in this very cabin only hours before. He had not known how to break to the crew his new status as their captain, but somehow they had known that Elias would hand the young pirate the Dragon. They had turned to him that morning, demanding orders, and he had given them automatically, as he had done so many times on board the Lady Swan before she was sunk.  
  
Marin was sat to James's right, Jack close by her, one hand clasped in hers as he watched her carefully. She was still pale, her eyes dull with grief, but James knew if anyone could draw her out of it, it would be Jack. He could see clearly the deep love that they shared, even if they had not yet reached the point of telling one another, and knew that Marin would need the irascible pirate's love more and more as she came to terms with her loss.  
  
He coughed, drawing their attention to him as he glanced about. His hand closed about the stem of the glass by his arm, holding the piece expertly so no wine slopped from it with the rolling of the ship.  
  
'Before I start, may I propose a toast?' he asked gently, his eyes meeting Marin's as she reached for her own glass.  
  
She nodded, preparing herself for a eulogy or something along the lines of one. Jack didn't let go of her as he lifted his wine, sharing a wary look with Will across the table. James nodded, thanking his little cousin without words. This was the only way he could think of to honour Elias without going against everything the old pirate had believed in. He raised his glass, his hand trembling slightly.  
  
'To friends sleeping young,' he said softly.  
  
Marin's eyes quickly sought out his as she repeated the touching phrase, grateful to him for not expounding on Elias' life. He inclined his head imperceptibly to her, lowering the glass once more, and taking out Danielson's locket. He placed it on the table with a barely audible clink.  
  
'First question,' he said wearily. 'What do we do with this?'  
  
They stared at it, each hating the sight of the thing that had caused the death of such a beloved friend. Jack coughed lightly.  
  
'If it's not going against keeping it in the family, mate, might I offer a suggestion?' he ventured, his voice uncharacteristically gentle in the quiet cabin.  
  
James nodded, grateful for any suggestions at this point.  
  
'Well, it seems to me that his share of the treasure is tainted by blood,' Jack said, his voice still low. 'I don't know how these old curses work, but I'm willing to bet heathen gods don't appreciate that sort of foul play, as it were.'  
  
He paused, glancing up at each of them to see if they were following him alright. Marin was staring at the table, but her fingers tightened on his as she felt his gaze on her. She was listening.  
  
'So reason seems to dictate that you don't touch his share,' he suggested. 'I know it goes against what Elias would have done, but I can't think of any other way of leaving the blood that was spilt well alone.'  
  
Will was nodding, remembering the potency of his own blood in one such situation.  
  
'I would agree with that,' he said quietly. 'We use his locket to open the chests, and leave it behind us when we go.'  
  
He glanced up at the commodore.  
  
'Not that it's my decision, of course,' he added. 'As head of the family, commodore, you have the final word.'  
  
James glanced at Marin, waiting until her eyes met his before speaking.  
  
'What do you say, cousin?' he asked her gently.  
  
She pondered it for a moment.  
  
'Elias would have wanted us to take the lot, and split the last share between us,' she said, her tone thoughtful. 'But I agree with Jack. Danielson's gold is too touched by blood for us to have anything to do with it.'  
  
'Then that is what we shall do,' James said firmly. 'The locket will be used to open the chests and thrown into the sea when we are done with it. Agreed?'  
  
They all nodded their assent, waiting to see what else he had to say. James coughed again, unused to taking charge in such a domestic situation.  
  
'I say we return to Port Royale to set certain affairs in order, and sail in spring to find the island,' he said, his voice surprisingly level as he gauged their reactions.  
  
Again Will nodded, having been around the Horn in winter and having no wish to repeat the experience. Jack glanced at Marin before agreeing, seemingly not wanting to disagree with her in case she felt he was isolating her from everything. She looked up at James, her eyes questioning.  
  
'What will you do?' she asked. 'You have a duty to the men under your command, you can't leave them for however many months it takes for us to collect our bounty.'  
  
He smiled at her, appreciating her concern.  
  
'I've already thought of it,' he assured her. 'The governor will grant me a leave of absence to collect my inheritance. The fort will be in Gillette's hands while I am gone.'  
  
She nodded, smiling faintly as she realised he had everything planned out in advance.  
  
'Then I see no reason to disagree,' she said softly. 'Spring it is, cousin.' 


	25. Not Intentionally

Marin stared out across the water, Jack by her side, to where the Black Pearl limped after them, making terrible time due to her holed hull. She could see Gibbs running back and forth, keeping the ship afloat with nothing more than will-power, it seemed. Jack had wanted to put into Tortuga to repair his beloved ship, but both Gibbs and James had strenuously objected, pointing out that the battered ship would never make the port in her current condition.  
  
In an effort to convince Jack to bring the Pearl to Port Royale to be repaired, James had taken him aboard the Dauntless and officially taken the irascible pirate under his protection, and his crew and ship along with him. Shocked, Gillette had been forced to accept his part in the affair as a witness, fully aware that the sailors on board were highly tickled at this turn of events.  
  
James had remained on board the Dauntless, resuming command of the ship despite his captain's protestations as they sailed back to Port Royale, keeping pace with the two injured ships that accompanied them. Jack had been persuaded by Will to remain on the Dragon for this painful journey, ostensibly to help him grow accustomed to commanding a ship once more, though they both knew that was a lie. He was there to keep Marin's spirits up, and doing a fine job.  
  
Her deep sense of loss remained, haunting her eyes with a mournful sadness intriguing to those who did not know what Elias had been to her. But she had cheered significantly after her day and night of desperate grief, allowing herself to feel more than just despair and sorrow. She was keenly aware that whenever her spirits seemed to droop, Jack was there, his arms open to hold her against the nightmares that would plague her for months to come.  
  
Marin could not imagine another day without him. She had lost too much to be able to cope with losing him, and yet she could not see any way that he could stay with her, despite his insistence that he would keep his last promise to his old mentor. Content to enjoy his company as long as it lasted, Marin welcomed his company, revelling in the sense of completeness that surged through her whenever his arms wrapped about her slender shoulders.  
  
For himself, Jack was discovering new depths to the sudden cowardice that seemed to come over him whenever he tried to tell his companion of his feelings for her. He was Captain Jack Sparrow, he did NOT get tongued-tied over a woman. At least, that's what he kept telling himself. He could express his affection in many little ways, such as holding her close and keeping a smile on her face with a careless remark, but when he tried to put that affection into words, his throat constricted, his voice-box refused point blank to work at all.  
  
It never seemed to be the right time to tell her, either. When he had just realised what it was he felt for her, they had been preparing to go into battle, and confessing his undying love for her the night before either of them could be killed hadn't seemed such a great plan. And now, she was grieving for Elias. There was no way she would want to hear what it was he wanted to say to her at the moment.  
  
Marin sighed softly, leaning into his embrace with a gentle smile.  
  
'I'm glad you're coming back to Port Royale, Jack,' she murmured, the pleasure in her voice doing much to allay his fears that he and she were being pushed together for no reason.  
  
Elias was a crafty old coot, Jack knew, admiring the old devil's final manipulation. He must have known how his student felt about the young woman by his side, and so arranged their lives obliquely in his last hour. It was a masterful piece of work.  
  
'Aye, love, you may be,' he said ruefully, glorying in her closeness, 'but there is nothing for me there but a noose.'  
  
Marin frowned, unaccountably hurt by his words.  
  
'Nothing?' she asked softly.  
  
Jack sighed, sensing an opportunity to speak out.  
  
'Well, maybe not nothing,' he conceded. 'But all I want is right this moment sailing towards the port, so I suppose you could say there's nothing there for me, yet.'  
  
She sighed, a slightly bitter smile on her lips as she realised he must be speaking of the Black Pearl. She had been right when she'd told Elizabeth that Jack Sparrow had no need for a woman. He had his Pearl, and needed no other to be his companion.  
  
'Yes, she's a fine ship,' she agreed softly, her gaze moving to light on the black sails once more. 'Still the fastest in the Caribbean.'  
  
Jack blinked, confused for a moment, until he guessed her misinterpretation of his words. Well, he supposed it could have sounded like he was talking about the Pearl . . . what did he have to do to convince the girl that it was her he wanted?  
  
'Nigh un-catchable,' he heard himself say, and inwardly cursed.  
  
You're supposed to change the subject, not compound the mistake, you fool, he thought harshly, wishing there were some way he could administer a swift kick to his own backside.  
  
'But hardly the most attractive lady I've ever met,' he added, pleased that he'd managed to turn the mistake into a compliment.  
  
Marin snorted, unimpressed.  
  
'She pleased you enough that you stuck a knife in Elias' ribs for her,' she informed him.  
  
Jack's eyes widened in surprise.  
  
'How the bloody hell did you know that?' he demanded, shocked.  
  
She laughed.  
  
'Well, I was on board at the time,' she reminded him. 'I was only a child, but I remember the night after you left. He was in such a foul mood, you were lucky he didn't catch you.'  
  
'I can imagine,' he agreed ruefully. 'Still, the knife didn't really solve my problems, did it? I ended up losing her to a mutinous crew, and gaining her back with the help of His Majesty's Navy. Hardly a glorious tale, now, is it?'  
  
Marin just grinned up at him, turning in his embrace to look fully into his eyes. She held the look for a long while before speaking.  
  
'Did you really sack Nassau Port without firing a single shot?' she asked curiously.  
  
He coughed, rolling his eyes self-consciously.  
  
'Not intentionally,' he admitted. 'We just found ourselves in an opportune moment, as it were.'  
  
She smiled, intrigued by this odd confession.  
  
'What happened?' she pressed warily, having heard some of his embellished tales before.  
  
'Well, we'd put into harbour to pick up some supplies,' Jack said awkwardly. 'The governor thought we were someone else, and ordered everyone to abandon the town, even the soldiers. So when we got there, there was no one to shoot, and we pillaged the lot . . .'  
  
His voice trailed off as she reached up to run her hand through his hair, admiring the delicate beads that adorned the dreaded locks. Her eyes slipped to his, their gazes locked in mutual longing for the other's touch. His hand ran up her back to grasp the nape of her neck lightly, the warmth of his fingers sending shivers through her. As her fingers tightened on his shirt, he bent, his lips brushing against hers in a tender kiss.  
  
At the helm, Dugan nudged Will's stomach sharply, winding his new captain slightly as he pointed silently down to where the two stood together, lost in one another's embrace. Will grinned, seeing the approval on every face around him as Jack's arms tightened visibly around Marin, pulling her closer against his chest as he deepened the kiss.  
  
She melted against him, breathing in his unique scent of rum, sea salt, and spice, a musky smell that could be no one other than Jack. He was gentle, giving as much as he took, and she sought to match him as his lips moved against hers, setting her blood aflame with longing for him.  
  
They didn't notice the entire crew watching them from their various posts, each sharing knowing grins as they observed the final nail being hammered into the coffin of Marin's childhood. Will glanced over to the Dauntless, where he could see the commodore walking the main deck with his officers.  
  
'Hopkins,' he called to his first mate. 'Do we have signal flags aboard?'  
  
The old sailor grinned, anticipating what was in the young man's mind.  
  
'Aye, sir, that we do,' he said, gesturing for them to be fetched.  
  
Will grinned.  
  
'Send up a signal for the Dauntless and the Pearl,' he suggested. 'Both sides have engaged should be obscure enough for them.'  
  
Hopkins laughed.  
  
'Aye, aye, sir,' he agreed, hurrying down from the poop-deck to oversee the signal being put together.  
  
As they ran it up, Will glanced back down to where his friends had pulled apart, staring mutely into one another's eyes. Dear God, he hoped they didn't muck this up now.  
  
*~*~*  
  
James nodded warmly to the helmsman as he stepped up onto the poop-deck, Lieutenant Goode and Midshipman Fazackerly in tow. The slow pace of the ships was interminable, but he was determined not to get so far ahead that he could not return to the Dragon and prevent Marin and Jack spilling each other's blood should they irritate one another enough.  
  
The stiff breeze that cooled his cheeks was most welcome, helping him to soothe other worries within him. As head of his family, he was expected to take Elias' place as Marin's guardian, but Jack had slipped into that role with very little trouble. He had no problem with that as such, but the fact that one day soon he would have to choose between having the irascible pirate for a cousin or losing Marin weighed heavily on his heart. It wasn't that he didn't want her to be happy, of course he did. It was just the impending relation with Jack Sparrow that concerned him somewhat.  
  
'Sir, the Red Dragon has run up a signal, sir,' Midshipman Fazackerly piped up suddenly, peering out across the water to where the bright flags flapped in the breeze.  
  
Lieutenant Goode smiled proudly down at the lad, watching as he translated the signal as accurately as he could. James waited patiently, resisting the urge to glance across and read it for himself.  
  
'Both sides have engaged, sir, whatever that means,' the boy said finally, sounding very confused.  
  
James's eyes widened, and he turned to face the Dragon, reading for himself the obscure signal. Will waved his arm to catch the commodore's attention, pointing down onto the main deck. James followed the gesticulating arm to where Marin was locked in a tender embrace with Jack Sparrow. A triumphant smile crossed his impassive features.  
  
'Run up a signal, Lieutenant,' he ordered. 'Proceed with all due caution.'  
  
He waited as the flags were run up, watching as Will doubled over laughing, holding on tightly to the wheel to avoid losing his balance. Midshipman Fazackerly leant over the side, peering up into the Dragon's rigging to read the next signal that was sent up to whip about in the breeze.  
  
'Captain Turner assures you he knows what he's doing, sir,' he said eventually, turning to the commodore in confusion.  
  
James let out a bark of laughter, startling officers and men alike.  
  
'I'm sure he does,' he laughed, turning back to his crew. 'I believe I will retire. Good night, gentlemen.'  
  
As they murmured their good evenings, he slipped down from the poop, unable to resist another glance across at where Marin stood, safe in the arms of a man she loved, and whom he was certain loved her. 


	26. A Gentleman As Well As A Pirate

Elizabeth and her father were waiting for them on the quayside, baby Matthew held in her arms as they watched the longboats swing out from the battered ships and lower to the water. Even Governor Swann could not suppress the intense worry for these pirates, who had proved less barbaric than he had first expected. In fact, he was almost resigned to counting them among his friends.  
  
Will and James were in the first longboat, with Gillette and the younger lieutenant from the Dauntless. Both looked weary and heart-sick, though Will's face brightened considerably as his eyes fell on his wife and son waiting there for him to disembark. As the little boat bumped alongside, James held his officers back, letting Elizabeth's husband bound ashore to gather his little family in his arms.  
  
The commodore dismissed the captain and lieutenant, moving to shake the governor's hand firmly. Swann smiled warmly at the younger man, glad to see him come through another battle none the worse for wear. Despite outward appearances, these two were good friends, accepting their fate to wait on the sidelines and watch the world go by together.  
  
'I take it the trip was a success?' the governor asked cheerfully.  
  
He frowned as a ghostly grimace flickered across James's face, a sudden sharp pain illuminating behind his eyes.  
  
'As near a complete success as one can manage,' the commodore answered, retreating behind his perfected cold mask.  
  
Swann searched his eyes for the reason for this open-ended answer.  
  
'What do you mean by that, commodore?'  
  
James hardened himself before answering, not wishing to display too much emotion to the gathering around them.  
  
'There were . . . casualties,' he said thickly. 'No success is ever complete when death is involved.'  
  
Thankfully, the governor accepted this explanation, squeezing the younger man's hand in an effort to give some small share of comfort to him. Beside them, Elizabeth and Will held one another tightly, both achingly aware that they could have been separated forever. Matthew slept peacefully in his mother's arms, blissfully unaware of the horrific images his mother had endured the night before as she sought the oblivion of sleep.  
  
The second longboat thudded alongside, and Will turned in time for Elizabeth to see Jack lift Marin onto dry land, sharing a loving smile with the young woman before relinquishing her that she might greet her friend. Marin rushed into Elizabeth's out-stretched arms as Will stepped back to join Jack, his son cradled close against him.  
  
'I see the young Turner is as unaffected as ever,' Jack said dryly, watching as the tiny boy stirred and promptly went back to sleep.  
  
Will laughed.  
  
'Give him a chance, Jack, he's only eight days old,' he protested, amused by his friend's dismissal of the importance the child held for them both. 'I doubt you were much better when you were his age.'  
  
Jack grinned, throwing Will off-balance slightly with the carefree expression.  
  
'I was never his age,' he insisted loftily, turning back to the women as Will roared with laughter.  
  
Elizabeth pulled back from the embrace, keeping Marin within the circle of her arms as she looked down at her friend. There was something different about her, something had given her an air of maturity that had not been present when they had sailed two mornings before. She had seen the open- ness with which she and Jack looked at one another, hoping it meant what she thought it did, but somehow Elizabeth didn't think that bringing feelings that were already there into the open would effect the impression her friend made on people.  
  
She glanced up, looking for the fifth member of the group that had sailed away from her only two days before.  
  
'Where's Elias?' she asked innocently.  
  
Marin froze under her hands, her face a mask of deep and abiding sorrow that she could not suppress. The men moved to rescue her from having to answer the question, James drawing Elizabeth away as Jack folded Marin into his embrace gently. Not understanding what was going on, the woman frowned up at him.  
  
'Well, where is he?' she demanded, feeling guilty for causing such pain to her friend and not knowing how she had done it.  
  
James swallowed, forcing himself to say it.  
  
'Sleeping young, Mrs Turner,' he managed, unable to say the stark words that would tell her bluntly.  
  
Elizabeth's eyes widened as she recognised the wording of the Navy's salute to those who had fallen in battle. Shocked tears welled up within her as she comprehended the death of a man who had seemed as though he would last forever.  
  
'Good God, I am so sorry,' she whispered, horrified that she had made such a heart-wrenching faux-pas.  
  
Marin pushed away from Jack's shoulder, staying close to her pirate for the support only he could give her. She smiled shakily at her friend.  
  
'There's nothing to be sorry about, Elizabeth,' she assured her. 'There's nothing anyone could have done to prevent it.'  
  
Elizabeth moved again to take the younger woman into her arms, rocking her gently as Marin allowed a few of her precious tears to fall. She had wept too much over Elias, and he would not be happy, were he still here, to see her wallowing in grief over such an everyday thing as death. She drew back, dashing the tears from her eyes with an embarrassed smile.  
  
'Sorry,' she muttered, abashed, before glancing up at Governor's House. 'I don't suppose you've got a meal prepared, have you?'  
  
Swann leapt into the conversation, nodding enthusiastically.  
  
'Indeed we have, Marin, my dear,' he told her.  
  
Jack moved to her side, one hand about her waist as she slipped into the circle of his arms.  
  
'That's good then, governor,' he said brightly. 'Because we haven't eaten since the evening meal last night.'  
  
The truth was that the stores had been hit on both ships, and the Dauntless had only had enough food to feed all three crews for one day after the battle, so they had done just that. That day's sailing had been hungry work, with all the seamen on all three ships complaining about the lack of vision in not putting the stores beneath the water line.  
  
As they made their way up to the house on the hill, Elizabeth was aware that Jack and Marin had hung back. She turned to hurry them on, and her gaze fell on where they stood with joyful triumph. They kissed tenderly, Jack obviously worried that his lass's spirits had been dampened by the inadvertent mention of Elias on the dock.  
  
Will nudged his wife, grinning.  
  
'Let them be, 'Beth,' he told her gently. 'I think we can let them do the rest from here.'  
  
With a grin of her own, Elizabeth nodded, turning to walk the track with her husband, her heart light with joy as she quietly celebrated the success of a plan hatched months before in a run down tavern in Tortuga.  
  
*~*~*  
  
The evening fell swiftly on Port Royale, cloaking the port town in a gentle darkness that seemed to soothe rather than choke the life within its walls. The house on the hill stood in semi-darkness, looming over two figures as they walked together through the wounded greenery that had not yet recovered from its savage gardener.  
  
It was not a sight he would ever have thought to see, James mused, that of Jack Sparrow walking hand in hand with any woman. But then, no one would ever have guessed that the irascible pirate would ever fall so deeply in love as he had. The commodore had it on good authority - namely Dugan and Gibbs - that Jack had not so much as looked at another woman since Marin had made an impression on his life, not even to negotiate with a whore.  
  
It was obvious that, for both parties involved, this was no passing attraction. He had accidentally overheard a snatch of conversation between them as they passed through the hall, confirming his suspicions that Jack was, in fact, a gentleman as well as a pirate.  
  
'Stay with me tonight,' Marin had asked him softly as they wandered through the entry hall.  
  
James was unashamed to admit that he had paused and strained his ears to catch Jack's response, half-certain he would need to inadvertently burst in on them to prevent any improper conduct.  
  
'I won't do that, love,' Jack had told her, and went on to explain. 'If I stay with you, I won't be able to just sleep beside you. Savvy?'  
  
Marin had protested, but Jack had been adamant, leaving James highly relieved, his nerves relaxing once again as the two walked out into the deepening darkness.  
  
Strange, he thought to himself, how one's opinion of another can change so dramatically. There was once a time when he had thought that all pirates deserved to be hanged, that they were the lowest of the low and needed to be wiped out. And then he had met Jack Sparrow, who had thrown all his ideals and morals out of the window in the space of a few short weeks, forcing the commodore to examine his purpose closely. He had taught the naval officer that there were exceptions to the rule, and that they required special treatment.  
  
James now no longer wished to see Captain Sparrow hanging up with his fellows at the harbour entrance, certain that the man did not deserve death of any kind. And although he was not over the moon about the pirate's connection with his cousin, he would not stand in their way should he decide to make an honest woman of her. He laughed quietly to himself. Not that marriage would even occur to the man.  
  
Governor Swann came to stand beside him, watching the two lovers with nostalgic eyes as he remembered a time when he had walked his gardens in England with Elizabeth's mother. He glanced at the commodore, confused by the amusement that marked his face.  
  
'Might I ask what you find so amusing?' he inquired, watching as his friend extricated himself from his thoughts to turn away from the window.  
  
'I was just considering the impossibility of a married pirate, governor,' he told the older man.  
  
Swann nodded knowingly, seeing the complications that could arise should such a thing become a distinct possibility.  
  
'But will you allow your cousin to live in shame?' he asked, apparently lightly, wishing to know the commodore's thoughts on being related to a pirate.  
  
Neither man thought of Marin as a pirate, probably because her soul seemed too gentle for her to commit the crimes all pirates were guilty of. Yet, James had seen how fiercely she fought, how effective her attack could be, and still refused to consider her the pirate he knew she was.  
  
'She does not find it shameful,' he said softly. 'Indeed, their companions would consider their match noble should it last their lifetimes.'  
  
Swann hid a smile.  
  
'But you would not,' he guessed, picking up on the unspoken words.  
  
James sighed.  
  
'I would not,' he agreed. 'But I would rather see her happily shamed, than unhappily married. Or abandoned.'  
  
'You said that Captain Fitzpatrick made them swear to remain together for as long as they could,' the governor mused, a thought occurring to him through the celebratory wine.  
  
The commodore nodded, frowning as he tried to follow his companion's train of thought.  
  
'Yes, he did. Why?'  
  
Swann pondered for a moment before answering.  
  
'A captain has the authority to officiate ceremonies on board his ship, does he not? And all a marriage is, is an exchange of vows before witnesses, yes?'  
  
James stared at his friend, before succumbing to the laughter that bubbled up inside him.  
  
'That crafty old goat!' he exclaimed. 'I wonder if they've realised yet?'  
  
Swann grinned.  
  
'I doubt it,' he said. 'But bear in mind, they weren't actually aware they were being married, so a confirmation of those vows would be required.'  
  
'I suppose they would,' James mused. 'Thank you, governor, you've given me leverage to make an honest woman out of her.'  
  
The governor inclined his head politely.  
  
'Anything to help a friend, James,' he said softly, turning back to watch the unsuspecting pair as they held one another close, unaware of quite how closely tied they actually were. 


	27. One One Shot

Jack stared gloomily out over the harbour, to where the Black Pearl and the Red Dragon lay on the beach being refitted by some of the finest ship- builders in Port Royale. He and Gibbs had made a habit of walking down there everyday, just to make sure they weren't changing anything to do with the design of his ship. Likewise, Will had persuaded Marin to help him keep an eye on the work that was being done on the Dragon.  
  
He should never have agreed to come to Port Royale for these repairs. Whereas in Tortuga, he would be in there, working alongside his crew to patch up the old girl, here he had been pre-emptively dismissed, as though he knew nothing of ship-building in the slightest. And now he could wander the streets in broad daylight with nothing to fear, he found himself bored.  
  
If Marin were with him, he knew this wouldn't be the case, but he had no right to want her all to himself. She was sharing her time between her cousin, her friends and him, and although he seemed to take up the most of her time, still he wanted more. When his Marin was with him, it all went away, all the gloominess, the foul moods, the boredom.  
  
But perhaps it was just as well that they spent some time apart. He was finding it increasingly difficult to refuse to sleep in her chamber, an invitation she made every night. Jack was not accustomed to suppressing his own desires, and was rapidly losing the ability to in the face of her calm siege. He didn't know how many more nights he could go on, returning to his room alone and desperately trying not to imagine what they could be doing in hers.  
  
James' presence was a dose of cold water to him, and he was grateful to the commodore for his seemingly infallible inner clock that told him exactly when Jack's resolve was weakening. He always seemed to appear just in time for Jack to push himself back from the edge, determined not to shame his Marin, no matter how much she wanted it as well. But despite this almost constant temptation when she was around, Jack still couldn't bear it when they were apart.  
  
There was a muttered oath behind him, and he heard Marin's voice coaxing her cousin out of the shadows. They had decided that Governor's House was too boring for them that evening, making plans to go and visit one of the many unsavoury taverns in the lower part of the town. However, James had overheard them and insisted they weren't going anywhere without a chaperone. To that end, Marin had taken him inside and told Jack to wait there for them.  
  
'Oh, come on, James,' he heard her say, her voice taut with suppressed amusement. 'It doesn't look that bad.'  
  
Jack could almost see the withering expression.  
  
'Marin, if you weren't a woman, I would be sorely tempted to slap you,' James growled.  
  
'Come now, commodore,' Jack called into the darkened doorway. 'There's no need to resort to threats.'  
  
Marin slipped out onto the steps, sharing a wide grin with her man as she turned to encourage her cousin out into the night air. James obediently moved into the light, looking dangerously resentful. Jack opened his mouth to laugh, and Marin's boot scraped down his shin, preventing the sound ever coming out.  
  
The commodore had been bereft of his wig and uniform, and dressed in what appeared to be some of Will's sailing clothes. A loose shirt and baggy trousers were secured with a deep green sash, the trousers tucked into black sea boots. A sabre hung at his side, the scabbard artfully scuffed and dulled. His skin had been dirtied up, his dark hair mussed effectively. A three-cornered hat completed the disguise.  
  
Jack looked him over, impressed with the transformation once he'd got over the amusement of knowing who it was dressed in such a fashion. There was very little chance of the good commodore being recognised where they were going, since no one really knew what he looked like without his uniform and wig.  
  
'It's amazing what a change of clothes can do, innit?' he declared, turning to make his way out onto the road, Marin at his side.  
  
James glared at the pirate's retreating back, cursing his own sense of propriety for getting him into this mess. With no other option open to him, he ran to join them, trying to steadfastly ignore how much more comfortable these trappings were in comparison to his uniform.  
  
*~*~*  
  
The tavern was rowdy, as they had expected it to be, though Marin and Jack had purposefully chosen one where they knew both Pearl and Dragon crews were, in case the commodore got himself in trouble. Gibbs and Hopkins could both be relied on for a good diversion should things get dangerous.  
  
James looked around him, shocked at the presence of so many pirates in his town, but at the same time fascinated by the sheer sense of joy that seemed to fill the taproom. These were men who drank for enjoyment, who genuinely liked one another's company and were incapable of sitting in morose silence while others spoke.  
  
But what really touched him was the way these men responded to Marin as she passed them by. She was obviously well known, even among the other crews that were here, ready with a cheery smile as the men reached out to greet her. So many of them grasped her hand solemnly, or expressed their sympathies to her, James found himself rapidly changing his views on pirates altogether. They were a community, he realised, just a community of outsiders who had banded together.  
  
Jack pushed him down into a seat beside young Solomon, one of the younger lads on his crew, and provided the lad with gold to purchase drinks with, before being dragged away from the table by a rather enthusiastic whore. James' eyes flashed straight to Marin where she stood watching this by- play, her half-smile telling him that she had expected this. Her eyes widened, and he glanced back at Jack, to find the pirate handing a purse over to the whore and pushing her gently in the direction of another lusty pirate. He then returned to Marin's side, rewarded with a kiss for his will- power.  
  
A large tankard of unknown liquid was put in front of him, and James felt his eyes water from the sheer mass of alcoholic fumes rising from it. Solomon grinned at him, taking his place beside the commodore as he took a huge gulp of his own drink. James opened his mouth to say that he didn't drink, and was reminded of an evening not so long ago when he had drunk, rather a lot. With a resigned sigh, he lifted the tankard to his lips, pleasantly surprised when neither ale nor rum touched his tongue, but a well made grog instead.  
  
Marin watched him take a gulp, proud of her cousin when he didn't spit it out, or do anything else that could start a fight. She nodded to Solomon, who gave her a cheeky grin. Yes, James would be perfectly alright this evening. He would probably give her a blistering dressing down tomorrow for taking him to such an unsavoury tavern, but she wasn't worried.  
  
The whores were flocking around Jack, but she wasn't bothered by that either. He had proved that he wasn't going to negotiate with any of them for any services rendered, because no services would be rendered this evening. He would need his pride cushioned a little though, she decided, taking in the furious expressions on some of the women's faces. Jack was going to have a very sore cheek.  
  
A pipe started playing somewhere nearby, a merry little tune she recognised as it wove about the noisy crowd. Seeking out the player, she found him seated on one of the balconies, his foot tapping against the railing as he played the melody. Someone grasped her from behind, lifting her up onto a table as the men around her began clapping, or stamping their feet, in time to the music played above her.  
  
Marin shook her head disbelievingly, grinning down at the up-turned faces around her. Even without Elias to bully them into requesting it, they still wanted to hear her sing. She glanced up at the piper, listening as he played the opening bars once more for her. With a rueful smile, she launched into the well known tune, encouraged as the men joined in, each in his own key, of course.  
  
Jack watched her proudly, ignoring the whores who were trying to get his attention. He had a feeling he had let them down badly by refusing their favours, but he was determined to be faithful to Marin. There was no reason he could see for hurting her with a little dalliance on the side with a fallen woman. He would sooner marry her than break her heart.  
  
He laughed to himself, deftly removing a wandering hand from a sensitive area of his anatomy. James would be very interested to know that, he thought, though the commodore seemed not to mind that his cousin had paired herself with one of the Caribbean's more notorious pirates. Indeed, he could have sworn said officer was encouraging them to be together, which was flattering, if a little nerve-racking at the same time.  
  
Pushing through the crowd as the song hurtled towards its closing bars, Jack lifted his Marin down amid the raucous cheers that always accompanied her singing. She was well-known here, and those who hadn't drunk too much yet could see the attachment between her and Jack. A fair amount of friendly teasing sprang up as he lifted her down, some of the more choice words making her blush as she sought to ignore certain of the phrases being bandied in their general direction.  
  
Jack stooped to kiss her gently, admiring the way her blushes made her look so much more innocent than she usually did. His shoulder suddenly sprouted a short dagger and he staggered backwards, cursing loudly as the blood began to flow freely. Marin spun around, seeking his attacker and caught a glimpse of a familiar face slipping out into the street. She forced her way through the crowd, leaving James to take charge of Jack as she pursued his attacker out into the streets of Port Royale.  
  
'Well, well,' said a mocking voice as she stalked silently through the streets. 'If it isn't the little interfering cow. Marin, isn't it?'  
  
Marin turned slowly, her sharp eyes finding the woman where she stood, half- hidden in shadow, a pistol aimed for her chest.  
  
'Hester,' she said wearily. 'Didn't I humiliate you enough in Tortuga?'  
  
The dog-faced woman hissed at her, fury darkening her already disfigured features. It appeared the broken nose Marin had left her with hadn't set properly, leaving the offending feature squashed and red.  
  
'That's why I'm here, little girl,' she spat. 'I've had my revenge on Jack, and now I want you.'  
  
Marin's eyes narrowed, taking in the woman's stance, her readiness to fight.  
  
'You've only got one shot,' she said softly.  
  
Hester smiled grimly.  
  
'One shot is all I need,' she promised.  
  
Tense, Marin watched her carefully, weighing up her options. Hester laughed, glancing away as the younger woman prepared to strike, and in that moment, Marin leapt forward. A single shot echoed through the streets of Port Royale.  
  
*~*~*  
  
I'm really on a roll here! Let me know if you want me to slow up on the posts, okay? 


	28. Well And Safe

It was just by luck that James' eyes had passed over his cousin and Jack as the dagger hit home, or he would not have had a clue as to what the sudden uproar was about. Twenty men shot to their feet, drawing their weapons as they searched for the attacker, leaving Jack to crumple backwards in mute agony. As Marin pushed through the suddenly alert crowd, James abandoned all pretence of dignity and clambered over the chairs and tables to land awkwardly beside Jack.  
  
The pirate captain looked up with glazed eyes as he registered who it was who was leaning over him.  
  
'James,' he croaked. 'Where's Marin?'  
  
James swallowed his own concern for his cousin, knowing she knew how to look after herself and turned his attention to the dagger in Jack's shoulder.  
  
'She'll be fine,' he assured the injured man, glancing up as Solomon and Gibbs knelt with him, the rest of the Pearl's crew keeping the crowd from trampling them all. 'Mr Gibbs, we need to clean and cauterise this wound.'  
  
Gibbs' eyes widened, shocked that the commodore knew anything about medicine when he so rarely let himself get his hands dirty. Solomon, on the other hand, elbowed him in the ribs, his young face tense with concern for his captain.  
  
'We can take him up to one of the whore's rooms,' he suggested.  
  
One of the girls overheard him and bent over them, displaying a vast amount of cleavage and seeming not to care.  
  
'You can take him up to my room,' she told them. 'Second on the right, first landing.'  
  
James nodded, standing as Gibbs and Solomon manhandled their captain to his feet and began to make their way through the heaving crowd to the stairs. He grasped the whore's arm gently, making sure he had her full attention.  
  
'We need clean water and bandages,' he told her. 'And some rum to clean the wound.'  
  
She nodded, pulling him over to the bar, where she leant over and shouted something indecipherable to the tavern-keeper. He glanced at James and nodded to her, moving into the room behind the bar.  
  
'He'll bring everything up to the room,' she told him. 'Do you need any help?'  
  
James glanced up at the gallery where Gibbs had just managed to get the door open. He looked back down at the woman by his side.  
  
'Probably,' he told her.  
  
She grinned, taking his arm and drawing him behind the bar.  
  
'We'll go up the easy way, then,' she said, leading him to the back stairs.  
  
They hurried up, the tavern-keeper close behind them, fighting their way along the gallery to the room where Jack was now tossing and turning on the bed, refusing to lie still while Marin could be in danger. He turned pleading eyes on James as the commodore entered, shutting the door behind him.  
  
'James, mate, someone has to find Marin,' he demanded, hissing as his movements knocked against the dagger still embedded in his shoulder.  
  
Ignoring him, and his own worries for the diminutive woman, James gestured for Gibbs and Solomon to hold the anxious captain down. He knelt on the bed, one hand against Jack's chest as his fingers slipped about the dagger hilt. With one swift tug, the dagger came out, spurting blood over all three men. As Jack opened his mouth to scream in pain, Solomon force-fed him as much of the rum as he could take, wanting to dull the pain for the next part of the treatment.  
  
They had all seen wounds cauterised before, and knew exactly how painful the process could be. They also knew just how quickly it had to be done. James drew one of Jack's wide blades from his boot, moving to hold the knife in the fire that burned merrily in the hearth. He gestured to the whore.  
  
'Clean the cut with the alcohol,' he told her. 'Ignore him if he complains.'  
  
Nodding, her face pale, she moved to do as she was told, not exactly gentle as she wiped the blood away. Jack swore vehemently up at her, his eyes slightly crossed from the huge amount of alcohol that had just been forced down his throat. Gibbs withdrew a bit of toughened leather from his pocket, forcing it between Jack's teeth as the captain bit down hard to avoid crying out in pain.  
  
'Bite down on that, Jack,' he told the irate man, still kneeling on his legs to prevent the pirate trying to get away.  
  
He glanced up at James, seeing the commodore nod. The blade was ready. He moved to kneel on the bed once more, pushing the blood-stained shirt away from the wound. Solomon pressed his knees against the captain's shoulders, holding his wrists so that he would not be able to fight them off. Likewise, Gibbs sat himself firmly on Jack's legs as James pressed the red hot metal against the open wound.  
  
The scream that issued from Jack's throat was animalistic in the extreme, hoarse and full of unimaginable pain and agony. He tried to arch up, away from the burning blade, but could barely move. Solomon closed his eyes, trying to breathe through his mouth as the smell of burnt flesh filled the room.  
  
Mercifully, the job was done swiftly, Jack passing out within seconds of the blade being taken away. James bandaged the wound, cleaning it again with what rum was left. They replaced the shirt on the captain, deciding against waking him as Gibbs hauled the unconscious body over his shoulder.  
  
'Solomon, put out people to find Marin and send her back to Governor's House,' he ordered his shipmate, turning to steer the commodore towards the door. 'Come along, sir, lets get him settled.'  
  
They pushed their way out through the crowd, slipping quickly through the darkened streets, each hoping that Marin had not got herself injured, or killed. Lord knew how the inert captain would take that news on his waking.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Jack groaned, grimacing at the dull throbbing in his right shoulder as it pulled him from the blissful oblivion of unconsciousness into painful waking. From the feel of things he was in a bed, though the smells that reached his nose told him rather swiftly that he was no longer in the tavern, but back in Governor's House.  
  
Someone was sat beside him on the bed, watching him silently. Not inclined to open his eyes just yet, he found himself wondering just why he was there. The last thing he remembered was bloody Norrington pressing a red hot dagger to the wound in his shoulder. He must have passed out, but had Marin been there? Had they found her?  
  
His eyes snapped open as he sat bolt upright, and found himself looking into a familiar pair of stormy grey eyes. Marin gave him a sardonic look, raising an eyebrow in amusement as he stared at her.  
  
'Something wrong?' she asked.  
  
Jack sighed, feeling his entire body relax.  
  
'Bloody hell, love,' he murmured, pulling her into his embrace with a low laugh. 'I thought you'd gone and got yourself killed.'  
  
'Not me,' she said, an odd tone to her voice as she laid him back against the pillows gently, letting him kiss her before she sat up again. 'I'm told you almost screamed the tavern down, though.'  
  
His eyes grew sarcastic as he held her gaze.  
  
'So would you if your cousin had set fire to your shoulder,' he said acidly, reluctantly smiling as she laughed at him. 'It bloody hurt.'  
  
'Oh, poor you,' she said teasingly, tweaking his beard gently as she stood up.  
  
He grabbed at her hand as she moved away, holding her fingers tightly.  
  
'Where are you going?'  
  
Marin squeezed his hand gently, disentangling her fingers from his.  
  
'You need to sleep,' she told him, looking pointedly out the window to where the moon danced on the waters of the Caribbean. 'And so do I.'  
  
He held her gaze for a long moment, drawing her gently down to his lips for another lingering kiss. He had no other way of telling her how afraid he'd been that she might get herself killed on his account. She seemed to understand, pulling back just enough to let him see her smile.  
  
'I'm fine, Jack,' she told him softly, once again pushing him back down onto his pillows and drawing the sheets over him. 'Sleep.'  
  
He smiled wearily up at her, waiting until the door shut behind her before closing his eyes and letting sleep claim him, secure in the knowledge that she was well and safe.  
  
Marin leant heavily on the wall outside the door, her eyes closed as she fought to come to terms with what she had done. In the fury of those moments she had known nothing but anger that someone had dared to hurt Jack, vengeance filling her heart. She swallowed against the guilt, knowing that soon someone would discover the body she had left in the street behind her.  
  
She had never killed in cold-blood before tonight. Hester had meant to kill her, of that she was certain, and she had acted in self-defence. She could not tell anyone, not even Jack, of what she had done to save her own skin. But nothing could wipe away the blood that now stained her hands, the blood of an almost innocent woman who chose the wrong time to tangle with her.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Am I forgiven? I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist putting a cliffie there . . . after all, I don't do them very often and it was a scene that just begged for it, don't ya think? Still, if you're still in a mood to make your displeasure (or pleasure) felt, then you know what to do . . . Point and click on the little blue button! 


	29. A Question Of Family Honour

The clash of metal against metal rang out over the town as swords met, sparking off one another in the heat of the battle. Dugan staggered backwards, cursing fluently as his feet tangled in a tattered bush, knocking him to the ground. Marin advanced on him, refusing to give the little lad a chance to regain his feet as she thrust her sabre towards him. He rolled swiftly to one side, hooking his foot about her ankle and yanking it towards him. She fell with a laugh, her sabre flying from her grip as his had done only moments before. They held one another's gaze for a few moments, both breathing heavily, before scrambling to regain both feet and weapons.  
  
Gibbs laughed, watching as the two combatants circled one another again, both fighting to prevent their giggles from distracting them. He shook his head, watching as Dugan was pressed backwards again, his feet nearing the edge of the escarpment. The little lad should never have aired his opinion that boys were naturally better at sword-play than girls, he thought, impressed with Marin's display of skill as she pressed her advantage.  
  
Governor Swann sat beside him, also enthralled in the duel being fought before them. It would never have occurred to him that everyone on a pirate ship knew how to fight, not only with swords, but pistols and daggers as well. As he thought about it, he realised that it actually made a lot of sense, since the main premise of piracy was fighting. Briefly he wondered if the two engaged before them could man a gun as well.  
  
Both men started forwards as Dugan toppled backwards off the escarpment, saved only by Marin's quick reflexes. She grasped the younger lad's shirt collar as he started to fall, heaving him around and throwing him to the ground behind her as he regained his composure. They all heard the sharp splash as his sabre hit the water far below.  
  
'An enemy would let you fall,' Marin told him, watching as he nodded in understanding. 'You have to be aware of the scenery around you. Mr Gibbs, your sabre, if you please.'  
  
Laughing again at this sudden switch from duel to lesson, Gibbs threw his sabre to her. Dugan took the proffered blade, watching her warily as he got to his feet. Marin waited until he was ready, stepping carefully away from the escarpment before beginning again. The little lad barely managed to raise his sabre in time, reluctantly giving ground as he retreated to regain his even footing.  
  
'I thought they were duelling, not having a lesson,' Swann said quizzically, his eyes never leaving the pair as they slashed at one another.  
  
Gibbs grinned.  
  
'Aye, well, this is how most pirates learn to defend themselves, sir,' he explained. 'We don't have no fancy schools or trained teachers.'  
  
The governor frowned.  
  
'But there's no style there,' he criticised. 'No finesse in the execution of the moves.'  
  
'Sir, when you're facing a man with a sword and the only outcome is your death or his, style don't mean sh -' Gibbs stopped himself just in time. 'It don't mean nothing, sir.'  
  
Swann swallowed a smile, knowing implicitly what the former navy seaman had been about to say.  
  
'Whatever do you mean?' he asked, wincing in sympathy as Dugan side- stepped a very precise thrust by his opponent.  
  
'Well, sir, imagine you're a pirate,' Gibbs said wearily, having been through this with many young men, both pirate and otherwise. 'Your ship's been attacked and boarded, and you're locked in a fight to the death with one of the other crew. Style and chivalry count for nothing in a situation like that sir. It's kill or be killed.'  
  
The governor looked shocked.  
  
'Is that really the way it is?' he asked, horrified. 'None of the books I've read ever spoke about that.'  
  
Gibbs rolled his eyes.  
  
'Most books about pirates've been written by men who don't get out enough,' he muttered, filling his pipe as the fighting before them escalated.  
  
Dugan had hit out at Marin in desperation as she advanced on him, his blade passing a little too close to her face for comfort. She'd leapt backwards, landing awkwardly on a bit of dead wood and stumbling sideways. Now that he had the advantage, the little lad wasn't taking any chances. He hurried to keep her occupied with defending herself, rather than letting her find her feet. However, he didn't account for the fact that pirates are armed with many different weapons. Marin withdrew a dagger from her sleeve, and pressed the flat of the blade against his arm.  
  
'Ach, crivens,' he muttered, staggering backwards as he would if he had been hit in the arm, and switching hands with his sword.  
  
Marin dropped the dagger a safe distance away and straightened up, swapping her sword hand as well to keep herself from having too unfair an advantage. The governor watched, fascinated by this addition of imaginary wounds to this already intriguing lesson. Gibbs glanced at his rapt expression, nodding to himself. There was hope for the old bugger yet.  
  
Further along the wall from them, James leant against the window ledge, also watching the lesson as it played out before them. He was impressed with the many subtle methods he had already noticed his cousin using to teach the young cabin boy the desperation of a fight to the death. Dugan was in no danger from her that the commodore could see, her control over the sabre was so complete.  
  
The window beside him opened, and Jack Sparrow leant out, his head level with James' shoulder. He'd removed his hat, on the governor's insistence, whilst in the house, and James could see the many trinkets and beads that adorned the pirate's hair. Jack grinned up at him, shaking him from his contemplation of the dark dreads.  
  
'Don't even think about taking them out, mate,' he was warned. 'They've all got sentimental value.'  
  
James sighed, turning his attention back to the lesson.  
  
'I assure you, Mr Sparrow, I have no intention of even touching your hair, let alone removing those objects from it,' he said wearily, wincing as Dugan lashed out with a fist and caught Marin in the midriff.  
  
Jack laughed at the commodore's tone, following his gaze to where the girl had fallen backwards suddenly, making the little lad over-balance and lose his grip on his sabre. He grinned in approval.  
  
'She's good at that,' he praised, seeing the proud smile on James' face as he watched his cousin.  
  
'It may lack beauty, but I've not met many people who could change their attack to match that of their opponent,' he agreed, leaning back once again against the wall. 'It's a very effective style, I'll admit that freely.'  
  
Jack nodded, admiring both players' ability as they circled one another. Despite the lack of experience, Dugan was a good fighter. He just needed to learn to anticipate his opponent's moves. Granted, Marin was one of the more unpredictable fighters Jack had ever come across, mainly due to the fact that most men didn't expect a woman to be able to lift a sword, let alone use it, but if Dugan could learn to hold his own against her, he would be well on the way to a long life on the open seas.  
  
James drew in a deep breath suddenly, still refusing to look at the pirate by his side.  
  
'I feel I must thank you, Captain Sparrow,' he said softly, 'for your conduct towards my cousin. You have behaved like a gentleman in resisting my cousin's advances, persuasive though she may be. My thanks.'  
  
Jack stared at him, incredulous.  
  
'You called me captain,' he exclaimed quietly, astonished.  
  
James coughed.  
  
'Don't get used to it, Sparrow, I don't believe it will be happening again,' he muttered.  
  
The pirate laughed.  
  
'Well, that's a relief,' he agreed. 'I don't know what I would do if you actually turned around and decided you approved of me, mate.'  
  
The ghost of a smile flickered across the commodore's face as the joke was registered. He sighed softly, blinking as the glare of sunlight off the flashing blades hit his eyes.  
  
'I'm afraid I must ask you something,' he admitted, 'something that may or may not offend you. However, you must bear in mind that I have only Marin's best interests at heart.'  
  
Jack rolled his eyes, guessing what was coming.  
  
'Ask away, mate,' he said. 'I can't guarantee you'll get the answer you want, though.'  
  
The commodore paused for a moment, his eyes still on the duelling pair before them.  
  
'What I wish to know, Sparrow, is whether you are going to do the right thing by her,' he said firmly. 'Make an honest woman of her, so to speak.'  
  
'She is an honest woman,' Jack protested obtusely. 'She's completely open in everything.'  
  
James sighed again.  
  
'That's not what I mean, and you are fully aware of it,' he said sternly. 'You're determined to make this difficult for me, aren't you?'  
  
'Am I?' came the answer, and he could hear the grin that had manifested on the pirate's face. 'Besides, mate, you know as well as I do that we're already married.'  
  
James blinked in surprise. He hadn't thought either of them had worked it out.  
  
'Then may I ask why you haven't taken her to your bed yet?'  
  
Jack smiled at the awkward tone.  
  
'Because she didn't know at the time what Elias was doing, and the last thing I want to do is confuse her with a relation that she's totally unaware of,' he told the commodore. 'There're other reasons, but that's the one I think you'd understand.'  
  
Pointedly ignoring this reference to his naval ignorance, James sighed.  
  
'If you were not already, would you marry her?' he asked bluntly, anxious for a reply as he ran through the varying methods he had thought up to back the pirate into a corner.  
  
Jack sighed softly, so quiet that James almost missed it. He risked a glance at the pirate, and found his gentle smile fixed on Marin as she struggled with Dugan. He could almost feel the regret that radiated from the love-struck man.  
  
'Pirates don't marry,' he muttered, a little bitterly. 'There's too much risk of widowing, especially when they're both pirates. It's a cruel thing to marry a pirate.'  
  
James nodded, understanding implicitly. It was the same with any man who lived a life on the ocean. She was a jealous lover, apt to take the married man and leave the loner alive. But this was a question of family honour, and he was not going to let Elias down. The old pirate had known exactly what he was doing when he commissioned James to make sure they kept their word.  
  
'If that is the case, then I am afraid I must ask you to leave my cousin alone,' he said harshly, aware of the expression on Jack's face as he turned shocked eyes on the commodore. 'Your confession of not wishing to make your joining official betrays your less than honourable intentions and so I cannot, in all conscience, allow you to continue meeting with her.'  
  
Jack's fists clenched.  
  
'Now, look here, mate,' he said fiercely. 'I never said I didn't want to marry her, I just said I can't. What right have you got to keep us apart?'  
  
James turned, his eyes burning coldly into Jack's.  
  
'The right of blood,' he hissed, making the pirate achingly aware of his promise to a dying man.  
  
Jack subsided, agreeing the commodore's superior right over his own. Blood is thicker than water, he thought bitterly.  
  
'If, and this is just hypothetical,' he said hastily, making sure James knew that before continuing. 'If I gave her up, what would you do?'  
  
James shrugged, inwardly exultant that Jack was so reluctant to entertain a life apart from his cousin.  
  
'I would arrange a suitable marriage for her,' he said, throwing the comment away deliberately.  
  
It occurred to him that perhaps he should have moved away slightly, as Jack's fist grasped a handful of his cravat, forcing the commodore to look at him. The pirate's eyes were dull with fury, his visage fearsome to behold.  
  
'Over my dead body,' he hissed. 'You'd condemn your own cousin to a life of misery just to satisfy your family pride?'  
  
James made no move to remove the hand from his cravat, staring impassively into his companion's eyes.  
  
'If you give me no other option,' he told him, keeping his features neutral and hoping none of the others around them noticed this hostile tableau they had made. 'I will not let you abandon my cousin.'  
  
Jack's eyes blazed angrily.  
  
'I have no intention of abandoning her,' he spat.  
  
'No, you will just shame her good name and deprive her of any reputation she could have had,' James spat back, becoming angry himself at the pirate's refusal to just agree to his terms.  
  
Jack had no answer to that, furious still that Marin's happiness was being used to corner him into marrying her. It was not the way of pirates, but he couldn't deny he had thought about it. The thought that she could be irrevocably his, that no other man could lay a claim to her, had haunted his thoughts for many nights.  
  
'You'd barter her happiness for her respectability?' he asked, trying to draw some control over his temper.  
  
James' jaw clenched, realising that he would have to lie if he wanted the answer that would solve the problem.  
  
'Yes,' he said tightly, hoping the pirate didn't notice the falsehood.  
  
Jack drew himself up, and sagged, releasing his hold on the commodore with a gentle push. He leant on his elbows, his eyes once again finding Marin as she danced just out of reach of Dugan's blade. Could he live with himself knowing that she was living a miserable life with another man when he could have protected her happiness with a single word?  
  
He sighed, a lifetime of longing and sadness in the sound.  
  
'Alright,' he murmured.  
  
James glanced up at him, setting his clothing to rights once more.  
  
'I'm sorry?' he said politely, needing to hear the words from Jack's mouth.  
  
The pirate glared at him.  
  
'I said yes, I'll marry her,' he agreed, adding, 'Again. But only if she agrees.'  
  
James nodded, not trusting himself to say anything that wouldn't get him punched. His gaze slipped from Jack's brooding expression to the duellers once again, watching as they came together in a flurry of blows.  
  
Dugan threw Marin away from him, almost falling on top of her as she lost her footing and fell onto her backside with an audible grunt. He knelt over her, certain of his impending victory and brought the sabre down. It crashed against her own, sending a jolt up his arm that seemed to earth itself in the base of his spine. Marin kicked up, pushing her friend onto his back as she drove him backwards with the crossed sabres. As she rolled to kneel on his legs, she drew her dirk from her boot, slapping the flat of the blade firmly against his throat.  
  
'Dead,' she said grimly, ignoring his attempts to get free.  
  
Dugan flinched away from the cold metal, cursing.  
  
'Get off me, ye great bully,' he laughed, letting her haul him to his feet as they made their way back into the house, each wincing at various new bruises and bumps that adorned their bodies. The governor laughed, turning to Gibbs with an expectant expression.  
  
'I believe you owe me two pounds, Mr Gibbs.' 


	30. Is That A Yes?

Elizabeth rocked back and forth gently, her tiny son cradled lovingly in her arms. It was harder than she had thought, to be raising the boy as any mother should and not call in a wet nurse as her father had suggested. The disturbed nights were beginning to take their toll on the two of them, but they wouldn't have changed their circumstance for all the world. They had already decided that, since Will was to go with Marin and James in search of the treasure, Elizabeth and Matthew would accompany him. After all, if things went to plan, he would grow up on a ship, so the sooner he grew accustomed to the wooden walls, the better.  
  
She smiled gently as the little boy sneezed, looking shocked that such an explosion had come from him. Will laughed softly, the rich sound filling the room over the frightened baby's sudden mewling. However, Matthew soon got over his little scare and began to lull once again, nestled close in his mother's arms.  
  
'Beth, do you have any idea what's wrong with Jack?' Will asked suddenly, watching something through the window.  
  
Elizabeth frowned.  
  
'How do you mean?' she asked, doing her best to look confused, though she did know exactly what was going on.  
  
Will's eyes followed whatever was out there back and forth for a few minutes before he answered.  
  
'Well, he's been in a foul mood lately,' he said, sounding troubled. 'He's avoiding Marin, glaring blue murder at James, and right now is pacing a hole in the third step by the front door.'  
  
His wife nodded, gently placing their son in his cradle and slipping to her husband's side. He was right. Jack was pacing frantically up and down the length of the step, waving his hands around as though he were rehearsing something. The look on his face was one akin to panic, or perhaps closer to despair.  
  
'He's waiting for Marin,' Elizabeth said, watching the pirate captain. 'She promised to meet him there at eight.'  
  
'Eight?' Will's eyebrows rose. 'It's only twenty past seven now.'  
  
Unable to stop herself, Elizabeth laughed, highly amused by Jack's obviously terrified behaviour. She moved back to take a seat, motioning Will to join her. He did so, intrigued as to what was troubling his friend.  
  
'So what is going on, 'Beth?'  
  
Elizabeth grinned, a disarming expression that instantly set Will's teeth on edge. Whatever was bothering Jack had not come about of its own free will. He forced himself to sit still and listen. However much he disliked his wife's habit of meddling, he had to admit the best usually came out of it.  
  
'He's going to ask Marin to marry him!' she said excitedly, clutching his hands tightly.  
  
'What?' Will was aghast. 'Elizabeth, pirates don't marry. It's an invitation for trouble.'  
  
Her eyebrows rose.  
  
'You did,' she sniffed, a little offended.  
  
He gave her an arch look.  
  
'Yes, and look what happened,' he pointed out. 'Our ship sunk, me captured and you at the whim of an unknown pirate. Just imagine the trouble Jack and Marin could get into if they married one another. You don't get to be as infamous as Jack without making some serious enemies, 'Beth.'  
  
Elizabeth held his gaze for a long moment, seeing the truth in his words.  
  
'There's no other outcome now though,' she said softly, almost regretting her part in this area of the match. 'James gave Jack no other option. He has to marry her, or James will keep Marin away from him and marry her off to someone else.'  
  
Will's eyes deadened in fury, and she winced as he launched himself off the sofa and slammed a fist into the wall, biting down on the furious oaths that were on the tip of his tongue.  
  
'How dare he,' he hissed, deliberately keeping his voice low for fear of disturbing the sleepy baby. 'He knows nothing of the life of a pirate, how dare he think he can just arrange things like that! Does Marin know?'  
  
'No, and you won't tell her,' Elizabeth said firmly, rising to place restraining hands on his shoulders. 'Please, Will. If this plays out to a marriage between them, I would rather Marin thought Jack had asked her of his own free will than been bullied into it. It would break her heart.'  
  
Will gripped her hands, his eyes still angrily black as he looked into hers.  
  
'But they'll be living a lie, 'Beth,' he told her. 'They'll be putting themselves in danger because of bloody Norrington's pride.'  
  
He glanced down to where Jack was still pacing.  
  
'I can't let him do it,' he muttered, held back from striding straight out the door by  
  
Elizabeth's suddenly vicelike grip on his arms.  
  
'You're not going to interfere,' she told him, her own eyes icy now. 'If you stop Jack from proposing, Marin will be engaged to some ageing merchant before the end of the week, and there really will be nothing you can do about that. Stop and think, Will. Once the resentment over the manner of the marriage has gone, do you really think they'll be unhappy together?'  
  
He stared at her, unable to deny the logic of her thought, but his heart crying out against the injustice that was being done to his friends. He sagged, defeated.  
  
'No, I can't see either of them letting marriage get in the way of their relationship,' he admitted. 'And I suppose I don't really have any right to be so protective of them. Especially Marin. James knows what he's doing, I suppose.'  
  
He slipped back down into a seat, absently reaching down to remove a corner of the blanket from his son's mouth. His hand was seized and duly investigated, the index finger swiftly gummed by the inquisitive baby. Will smiled fondly, his eyes widening as a terrible thought occurred to him.  
  
'Can you imagine what their children will be like?'  
  
*~*~*  
  
The darkness was terribly inviting to the pacing pirate as he waited for Marin to join him. The only thing that kept Jack from running away into the welcoming black was the ever-present thought of Marin married off to an old merchant and sent to an early grave via the medium of child-birth. He had no doubt her spirit would be broken in such a match, and could not bear to stand back and watch that.  
  
For watch it he would have to do. Despite his prolific reputation, Jack Sparrow had never, in his entire life, risked a coupling with a married woman, having an ingrained respect for the sanctity of marriage. If Marin were to be married off to another man, Jack would sooner kill himself than tempt her into breaking her vows, however unwillingly taken.  
  
Much as he tried, however, he found it increasingly difficult to concentrate on the negative aspects of being married. His mind sought to reassure him, reminding him of life-long companionship, the sense of belonging, the impossibility of ever being alone again. And it would definitely not be a one-way partnership. He knew Marin well enough to know that she would give as good as she got, capable of holding up her side of a bargain.  
  
Footsteps drew him out of his reverie, and he turned to greet the young woman with an expression that was more like a rictus of horror than a smile. Slightly bemused by the obvious terror in his eyes, Marin still threw herself into his arms, wondering at the uneasy tension that hung about him.  
  
She pulled back from his cold embrace, frowning as she looked into his eyes.  
  
'Is something wrong?' she asked.  
  
Jack gave her another terrified smile and shrugged jerkily.  
  
'Wrong?' he echoed, sounding panicked. 'No, no, nothing wrong, so to speak. Nothing at all.'  
  
Her eyebrow rose in a sardonic arch as she smiled, amused by his galloping speech. She nodded to herself, slipping under his arm and leading him into the darkness. Maybe he'd calm down if he couldn't actually see her face.  
  
His arm tightened about her, drawing her as close as he could. Try as he might, no amount of terror could invalidate the loving way he responded to her when she was nearby, and for that Jack was intensely grateful. Even if he sounded like a gibbering fool, there was no way she could mistake the warmth of his embrace for anything other than it was.  
  
They wandered in silence through the slowly rejuvenating bushes, both watching the sea before them as they approached the escarpment. Jack was reminded of another such walk, one he had taken alone weeks beforehand, only to come across the girl who walked at his side, bloodied and bruised, sobbing in relief as he drew her close. He had loved her even then, he realised, remembering the blind fury that had coursed through him on seeing her so injured. Never again, he swore to himself. Never again would anyone do such to her without first having to come through him.  
  
Marin sighed softly, gazing out across the bay with tired eyes.  
  
'Jack, are you alright?' she asked him gently.  
  
He frowned, biting down on the gabble of responses that came bubbling up.  
  
'Do I seem alright?' he asked back.  
  
He could almost see her smile at the ambiguous reply, knowing how she hated it when he answered her questions with questions.  
  
'You've been avoiding me,' she murmured, sounding hurt and lonesome. 'I thought maybe I'd offended you.'  
  
Jack's eyes closed in self-disgust. In his efforts to scrape together enough courage to ask a relatively simple question, he had pushed her aside, however unintentionally. He turned to pull her fully into his embrace, resting his chin atop her head as she pressed herself into his arms.  
  
'Love, I'm sorry,' he whispered. 'I've been distracted, that's all. You could never offend me.'  
  
Her answer was muffled in his chest so that he barely heard it, but he caught the amusement that laced the teasing words clearly.  
  
'Oh, I'm sure I could, if I set my mind to it.'  
  
He chuckled.  
  
'So am I,' he agreed. 'No, I've just not been myself, love. It's no reflection on you. Besides, you've been closeted in with Elizabeth the last few days.'  
  
Marin grimaced, rolling her eyes as she rubbed her cheek against the soft fabric of his shirt. She sighed.  
  
'I would gladly have switched places with you,' she told him. 'One more hour of being measured and prodded and forced into dresses while other women comment on my manly style and I'm sure I'll go mad.'  
  
Jack laughed.  
  
'You have to get dressed up, Marin, you're going to a party,' he told her. 'The dear commodore can hardly introduce you as his cousin wearing sea boots and trousers, can he?'  
  
'I don't see why not,' she complained, reluctantly joining in with his laughter as she let herself see how ridiculous she was being.  
  
Jack reached up, brushing her hair tenderly from her face, and wondered if he would ever get around to asking her the important question. She smiled, a little self-consciously, under his gaze, a light blush darkening her cheeks in the moonlight.  
  
'I'm going stir-crazy on this island,' he told her softly, something he would never have admitted to anyone, not in a million years. 'I can't stand not having a purpose, a reason to be.'  
  
She nodded, enjoying the feel of his callused fingers against her skin.  
  
'I know what you mean,' she murmured. 'At least on the ocean, you can tell yourself there is a reason for your wanderings. On land, there is nothing but boredom.'  
  
Jack smiled down at her through the darkness.  
  
'At least I have you to distract me,' he grinned, pleasantly surprised when she did not wait for him to lean down, but stood up on her tip-toes to plant a gentle kiss on his lips.  
  
As her arms slipped about his neck, drawing him closer, it occurred to Jack that this was how it should be. He should have the right to be happy with the woman of his choice, not forced to live a lonely life on the seas with nothing but the pleasurable company of whores to distract him whenever he reached land safe. This was his choice.  
  
He pulled back gently, preventing her from stepping away as he dropped tender kisses on her cheeks and eyelids. She seemed so totally at ease with him, her face the picture of serenity as she waited with eyes closed for him to take her lips again.  
  
'Marry me,' he murmured, shocked that it felt so natural to say it.  
  
Marin's eyes flew open, searching his as if for confirmation that she had heard him right. He had grown so tense suddenly, his eyes burning into hers as he waited in agonised silence for her answer. Pirates don't marry, she could hear Elias saying to her, but if they weren't to marry, why had he made her promise to stay with Jack? Surely to answer yes would be to fulfil that promise?  
  
His hands were shaking where they rested against her back, telling her more than words ever could just how important her answer would be to him. But somehow, the words would not come out.  
  
'Jack, I . . .'  
  
He looked as though her hesitation was causing him physical pain, so deep was the grimace on his face. He pressed his forehead against her own, still staring into her eyes with that expectant worry.  
  
'Please?' he whispered. 'Please, Marin, marry me.'  
  
She swallowed, still fighting against whatever it was that prevented her from speaking. Her hands tightened on his shoulders, drawing him down to kiss her again as she endeavoured to show him how she felt, since she could not say it. Jack responded hungrily, openly desiring her as he plundered her mouth in desperate silence, as if he were taking his last taste of her before she cast him aside. As the kiss ended, she smiled up at him, watching as hope flared in the darkness of his eyes.  
  
'Is that a yes?' he asked her, his voice almost inaudible.  
  
She could no more stop her smile from widening to a grin than she could stop the sun from rising. Jack laughed in disbelief, lifting her off her feet and spinning about the garden, filled with sudden joy that his Marin was just that; his. He lowered her to the ground, his heart pounding as he kissed her again, holding her close against him.  
  
'Say it,' he pleaded wonderingly, his warm breath caressing her lips as she gazed up at him.  
  
'Yes,' she whispered, unable to hide her happy smile. 'Yes, I will marry you.'  
  
Jack let out a whoop that echoed about the garden, drawing her into his arms for another loving embrace, laughing in relief as the image of his Marin married unhappily was banished from his mind. She was his, irrevocably, irreversibly, and no one would ever take her from him. 


	31. A Suitable Match

The Apollo was suitably majestic as she swept into the harbour, laying down her anchor with all the grace of a whale. The governor stood on the dock, watching as the crew and merchant's men hurried to secure the cargo in the hold before lowering a boat to row their passengers ashore.  
  
Will stood with the governor, wishing for all the world that he had not agreed to meet the ladies as they arrived. It had been an eventful morning, to say the least, begun by the governor's horrified announcement that his sister-in-law and her daughter were to be arriving very shortly, in fact on board the brigantine that had been sighted off the headland as dawn approached.  
  
As Elizabeth took charge of the household, carefully preparing rooms and hiring maids for her aunt and cousin, it had slowly come out that Governor Swann had received a letter from Lady Rosemary Blythe just over a month before, informing him that she was making her way to Port Royale to meet her niece's husband and congratulate them on their marriage. Needless to say, in all the excitement, he had forgotten their impending arrival, reminded only when the runner came up to the house to inform him that the Apollo had been sighted.  
  
In order to ease their relations into the house gently, Elizabeth had immediately sent Marin down to the fort to spend the day with James, forced into a dress because of who would be at the house when she returned. Jack had been shooed away and told to at least make himself look respectable, even if he couldn't act respectable. Will hadn't missed the mischievous twinkle in his friend's eye as he left the house, wondering what the irascible pirate was up to.  
  
So now he and his father-in-law waited patiently on the quayside as the longboats pushed off, Elizabeth putting the finishing touches on the final preparations up at the house. Will could see the two women sitting snugly in the stern of the second longboat, nudging the governor to make sure he saw them.  
  
As the longboat bumped alongside, Will hurried to help them disembark. The older woman gave him a grateful smile as he extended a hand to assist her, glancing back at her daughter with a knowing look.  
  
'Weatherby, how wonderful to see you again!' she exclaimed, embracing the governor warmly.  
  
Will swallowed a laugh at this shameless announcement of his father-in- law's first name, leaning down to help the daughter onto dry land. She echoed his amused smile, watching as her mother accosted her uncle.  
  
'I'm sure your joy does not exceed my own, Rosemary,' Swann told her, accepting her embrace with an air of defeat. 'I trust the voyage was not too rough?'  
  
Lady Rosemary Blythe laughed.  
  
'Oh, not at all,' she assured him. 'I found it quite bracing.'  
  
She turned to where her daughter stood with Will, neither doing very well in hiding their amusement at the governor's less than masterful command of the situation.  
  
'You remember Laura, don't you?' she said, beckoning the younger woman forward. 'Oh, of course you do. Ellen made a special effort to make sure you knew your niece, didn't she?'  
  
Laura curtseyed to her uncle, her green eyes alive with laughter as she greeted him warmly.  
  
'How could anyone forget Laura?' the governor said warmly. 'And how are you, my dear?'  
  
'I'm very well, thank you, uncle,' she replied quietly, and Will was struck by her sudden shyness. How could someone whose emotions were so obvious to anyone who took the time to look be so shy, especially with her family?  
  
Rosemary beamed down at her, wrapping her arm about her brother-in-law's firmly.  
  
'How is dear Elizabeth?' she asked, returning his attention to her with a swift tug on his sleeve.  
  
The governor seized the opportunity presented to him. He smiled.  
  
'I'm afraid I am no longer in a position to tell you, my dear,' he told her. 'Her husband is far better able than I.'  
  
He gestured to Will, beckoning the younger man forward.  
  
'May I present William Turner, my son-in-law?' he said formally. 'Will, this is Lady Rosemary Blythe, my late wife's sister, and her daughter, Miss Laura Blythe.'  
  
Will bowed to the two women, suddenly aware of Rosemary's scrutiny.  
  
'I'm honoured, ladies,' he managed, before he was pulled into her arms with a low cry.  
  
'You dear, dear boy,' she cried, holding him close for a moment before releasing him once more. 'You don't know how pleased I was to hear that our Elizabeth had finally found herself a man. And to hear that she married for love - it was wonderful news!'  
  
Bemused by this exclamation, Will smiled politely, nodding to Laura as she curtseyed once again, this time to him. Rosemary's hand grasped his arm as she drew him along the quayside, having obviously decided to walk up to where she could see Governor's House nestled on the hill. Behind them, Governor Swann offered his arm to his niece with a bright smile, escorting her through the town as they listened with interest to the bombardment of questions Will found himself answering.  
  
The walk to the house was mercifully short, Will decided, swiftly side- stepping his wife as she flew from the garden on their arrival to greet her aunt and cousin. It was touching to see how affectionate the three women were, leading him to believe that they had been close before the Swanns had come out to the Caribbean. However, it gave him the perfect chance to observe the newcomers as he quietly gave instructions to the servants.  
  
Lady Blythe was a plump woman, not even half as prim and proper as he had expected her to be. She seemed genuinely pleased with everything, from the weather to the welcome she had received on arriving. Her questions as they had walked up from the town had not been invasive, but Will had found it hard to answer easily because he felt he did not know her. He realised now that he would have no choice but to get to know her very quickly. This was a lady with a zest for life, and she didn't seem the type to be put off for long.  
  
Her daughter was a younger, slender version of herself, a deal quieter than her mother. What Will had mistaken for shyness on the quayside had been a softer nature than that of her mother, though she was no more reserved than said lady. Her attachment to Elizabeth was clear, shining through her affectionate smiles and gestures. Her hair was as dark as Elizabeth's had been when they had first met, the similarities between mother, daughter and niece too numerous to dismiss.  
  
Jonathan slipped into the room, moving to tug at Will's sleeve since he couldn't reach the governor.  
  
'The little lad says to tell you, sir, that Miss Delaney and Commodore Norrington are coming up the track, and not to let Mrs Turner laugh at their companion,' he whispered hoarsely.  
  
Laura glanced up, having overheard the whisper, watching as Will slipped from the room with the manservant to head off the approaching guests. She turned to Elizabeth, swallowing a laugh at the sight of her mother cooing over the baby.  
  
'Where did you meet Will?' she asked softly, curious.  
  
Elizabeth smiled gently.  
  
'He was pulled out of the water on our voyage from England,' she told her cousin. 'His ship had been destroyed by pirates.'  
  
Laura gasped, feigning shock. Elizabeth slapped at her hand.  
  
'Don't you tease me, Laura Blythe,' she warned. 'I know all about your love of pirates.'  
  
'And I, yours, Liz,' Laura laughed. 'Tell me, did you ever meet that pirate you read so much about?'  
  
Before Elizabeth could answer, Will slipped back in, announcing their other guests.  
  
'Elizabeth, Marin's back,' he told her, before said young woman brushed him aside gently.  
  
'Oh, I'm terribly sorry,' she said, mortified that she had interrupted them. 'I'll come back later.'  
  
Rosemary glanced up, her eyes quickly taking in the appearance of this newcomer.  
  
'Oh goodness me, don't leave on our account,' she said bluntly. 'Come in, we're not going anywhere.'  
  
Marin nodded to her, slightly bemused, and slipped into the room, vaguely aware that Will had gone back out into the hall and was engaged in a heated conversation with Jack. James followed her, bowing politely to the women as they rose to curtsey to him.  
  
'Forgive me, Aunt Rosemary,' Elizabeth said warmly. 'These are my friends, Miss Marin Delaney, and Commodore Norrington. Marin is staying here with us, I do hope you don't mind.'  
  
'Nonsense, child, of course we don't mind,' she was told firmly. 'She was here first, by all intents and purposes. Oh, do sit down, commodore. Don't stand on ceremony.'  
  
Exchanging an amused glance with Marin, James took a seat beside Laura, nodding politely to her as Elizabeth spoke up again, introducing the women she was sat with. He blinked, turning his head to look again at the young woman by his side as the conversation began again. She was lovely, an enchanting looking woman, especially the way her eyes sparkled as she spoke. He couldn't take his eyes off her.  
  
Elizabeth glanced at his captivated expression and nudged Marin, who was forced to swallow a rather hearty laugh at the moon-calf look in her cousin's eyes. Rosemary tapped her hand, drawing her attention back to the older woman.  
  
'Do you live out here, Miss Delaney?' she asked, her eyes sharp as she took in the simple dress, obviously noting the lack of corset.  
  
Marin smiled, nodding.  
  
'I've lived in the Caribbean almost all my life,' she said gently.  
  
'Goodness me, have you really?' Rosemary sounded intrigued. 'Here in Port Royale?'  
  
'Oh no,' Marin hastened to correct her. 'All over the place. My parents died when I was very young, you see, and my guardian's profession took him all over the Caribbean.'  
  
Rosemary nodded, glancing to where James still had not gained control of his senses enough to join the conversation.  
  
'The commodore has not always been stationed here, then?' she ventured, innocently assuming that he was the guardian Marin spoke of.  
  
Marin smiled again, already liking this inquisitive lady.  
  
'I wouldn't know,' she admitted.  
  
Rosemary frowned.  
  
'But surely, if he is your guardian . . .'  
  
'Oh! Oh no, Lady Blythe, James isn't my guardian,' Marin told her, and paused, suddenly overcome with longing for Elias.  
  
A gentle hand covered her own as Rosemary leant in closer.  
  
'My dear, are you quite well?'  
  
Suddenly aware that Marin needed rescuing, James jolted from his contemplation of Laura's face and joined their conversation.  
  
'My cousin is quite well, Lady Blythe,' he assured the woman. 'I'm sorry to say her guardian died a little while ago, and the pain is still very near.'  
  
Rosemary nodded, understanding now the tight expression on her companion's face. She squeezed Marin's hand gently.  
  
'I understand, dear,' she said softly, deftly changing the topic of conversation away from such a painful subject.  
  
Just then Will slipped in, barely in control of his expression as he introduced his companion to those already seated.  
  
'May I present Captain Jack Sparrow?' he said softly, turning away as Jack entered the room, a bright smile on his face.  
  
Of those who knew him, only Marin and James managed to maintain composed expressions, having seen his ensemble on the walk up from the town. Attired in a fine suit, worthy of any English merchant, his dreadlocks hidden beneath a wig similar to the governor's, Jack was almost unrecognisable. He bowed low to everyone present, ignoring the slack jaws of both Elizabeth and the governor, and Will's near hysterical laughter behind him.  
  
'Forgive me for interrupting,' he said politely, the slur gone from his voice to be replaced with a clipped British accent. 'I was unaware that the governor had guests. I shall retire to my room.'  
  
'Are you staying here also, sir?' Laura asked innocently, glancing from Elizabeth to this polite merchant who had entered.  
  
'I am, my lady, though hopefully not for long,' he told her gently.  
  
Rosemary was also glancing from niece to merchant, turning to Marin for an explanation.  
  
'My dear, could you tell me who this young man is?' she asked.  
  
Marin smiled, grateful for an excuse to ease the tension in the room.  
  
'I can, Lady Blythe,' she assured the two women. 'This is my fiancé, Captain Jack Sparrow.'  
  
Jack bowed, shooting her a mischievous look as the two ladies rose to greet him formally.  
  
'Jack, this is Lady Rosemary Blythe, and her daughter, Miss Laura Blythe, Elizabeth's aunt and cousin.'  
  
'A pleasure, ladies,' Jack said softly, moving to sit on Marin's other side with a warning look to Elizabeth.  
  
She snapped her mouth shut, dragging herself back under control.  
  
'The captain is staying with us while his ship is repaired,' she told them. 'Since he is to be married to the commodore's cousin, we could hardly allow him to take rooms at one of the inns.'  
  
'Hardly,' Laura echoed in an amused tone, her eyes betraying the fact that she had guessed something was going on.  
  
Marin's gaze locked suddenly with James', and he picked up on the subtle message to tell Laura everything. With a polite smile, he turned to the young woman.  
  
'Miss Blythe, would you care to take a turn about the garden with me?' he offered.  
  
Laura blushed, glancing at her mother before answering.  
  
'I'd like that, thank you, Commodore Norrington,' she said, allowing him to draw her to her feet.  
  
Rosemary watched them as they left the room, her mind already alive with possibilities. She turned to Elizabeth.  
  
'Is the commodore unattached, Elizabeth?' she asked.  
  
'Rosemary!' the governor objected. 'You've barely arrived and you're already match-making?'  
  
His sister-in-law gave him a gentle pat on the hand.  
  
'It is one of the duties of being a mother, Weatherby,' she told him. 'After all, I can hardly trust Laura to make a suitable match all by herself, now, can I?'  
  
Elizabeth shared a wide smile with Marin before answering, watching over her aunt's shoulder as the pirate lass tucked one of Jack's stray dreadlocks back beneath his wig.  
  
'No, Aunt Rosemary, I don't think he's attached,' she told the curious woman. 'I'm sure he would have mentioned it to someone if he was. Has he said anything to you, Marin?'  
  
The girl looked up with a surprised smile, not having expected to be included in the conversation again. Her hand, Elizabeth noted with some satisfaction, rested in Jack's, quite unconsciously.  
  
'I don't think he's had time to get attached to anyone,' she said softly.  
  
Rosemary frowned.  
  
'Whatever do you mean, child?' she asked curiously.  
  
Jack restrained his grin to a polite smile as he answered for his fiancé.  
  
'Merely that the dear commodore has been rather too busy arranging other people's lives for them to let himself notice that there's a score of young women who would be only too happy to make his life complete, as it were, Lady Blythe,' he told her.  
  
She glanced between him and Marin, nodding in understanding.  
  
'Well, I should think it's about time he did,' she said firmly, her gaze shifting to watch as her daughter and the commodore took a turn around the garden, oblivious to anything but one another. 


	32. Safe Haven

James stood in the doorway of the drawing room, trying to subtly watch Miss Blythe where she sat, chatting animatedly with his cousin. He was pleased the two women got on so well, not only for his own interests, but because Marin knew very little of the ways of her own sex. It would do her good to learn how to behave as a woman.  
  
A soft expression crossed his face as he looked on her companion, admiring Laura's beauty as she spoke. He had fallen under her spell faster than he would ever have thought possible, drawn in by sparkling green eyes and a suspicious smile. The hour he had spent explaining to her the subterfuge that was going on surrounding Marin and Jack had been one of the more enjoyable of his life, he had decided.  
  
Part of him was shying away from this sudden attraction, firmly telling him not to get involved, but the other, larger part of him was urging the commodore to seize the moment. If he hesitated too long, Laura would go home, and the likelihood was that he would never see her again. But he could afford to wait a while longer, he knew. Proposing during the week after your first meeting was hardly the way to go about a courtship.  
  
He felt a presence at his elbow, and turned, swallowing a smile at Jack's appearance. Although he had seen it first the day before, just seeing the pirate captain dressed as an honest merchant, and behaving so impeccably was enough to set him chuckling.  
  
Jack nodded to him.  
  
'And how are you this fine evening, commodore?' he asked, his own eyes on Marin as she leant forward to whisper in Laura's ear. 'Well, I hope?'  
  
James frowned.  
  
'Perfectly well, I assure you,' he replied politely. 'Whatever makes you ask?'  
  
Jack glanced up at him.  
  
'Well, it appears that you have something wrong with your eye,' he told the commodore. 'It keeps sliding to the right, you see, and Lady Blythe wanted to know if you had a problem of the optical nature.'  
  
James just about managed to prevent himself from flushing darkly in shame.  
  
'There is nothing wrong with my eye, thank you,' he said shortly.  
  
'No, I didn't think there was,' Jack said knowingly. 'After all, a man would have to be blind, or attached, not to want to watch young Miss Blythe.'  
  
James' eyes widened in surprise.  
  
'Am I that obvious?'  
  
Jack shook his head carefully, still unused to the wig.  
  
'No, mate, only to a pirate who knows every trick in the book,' he assured him. 'It's nothing to be ashamed of, mate.'  
  
James nodded, forcing himself not to look over at Laura as she laughed at something Marin had said.  
  
'She's perfect material for a navy wife, if you ask me,' Jack murmured, pointedly ignoring James' surprised start. 'Pretty, spirited, patient. I would bet she's not afraid to get her hands dirty. And she hasn't tried to shop us in yet, so she's loyal, too. Perfect for you, mate.'  
  
'You're match-making, Sparrow,' James muttered darkly.  
  
'Ah, well, it takes one to know one, mate,' the pirate said softly, fiddling about beneath his wig. 'These are very uncomfortable, you know.'  
  
James hid his smile.  
  
'I've been wearing one for nigh on twenty years, what do you think?' he asked acerbically.  
  
Jack grinned.  
  
'Point taken,' he murmured. 'And as for your other problem, if you take my advice, you'll wait for the opportune moment.'  
  
James stared at him, not quite able to believe that this philandering pirate he had backed into a corner over marrying his cousin was giving him advice on how to catch the woman he now wanted to marry. History comes full circle, he thought to himself, his eyes returning to Laura and Marin. And he did so long for a family of his own.  
  
Laura smiled brightly at her companion, still giggling a little over something the younger girl had said. To her surprise, she had not been at all shocked to discover that both Marin and her fiancé were pirates, having sensed something amiss with them as gentlefolk. The commodore had explained everything so clearly to her, she understood completely the reasons for their pretence.  
  
Marin was fast becoming a good friend to her, though most of their conversations were on topics her mother would certainly disapprove of. The Irish girl had confided in her their plans for the spring, though she sensed something was being kept from her, and it had to do with the way Marin kept touching the locket that hung about her neck. Laura didn't mind, though. She was flattered to have been brought into their confidence at all, even invited to the wedding that was being planned around them as they chatted lightly.  
  
'Marin, aren't you having any say at all in your own wedding?' she asked quietly.  
  
Marin rolled her eyes.  
  
'I'd sooner jump off the cliffs,' she said candidly. 'Honestly, Laura, I'm hardly the most feminine woman you'll ever meet. I'd much rather be married aboard ship by a captain, in my shirt and trousers. But no, Elizabeth is insisting on a church ceremony.'  
  
'Albeit a small one,' Elizabeth interjected from where she sat with Will.  
  
The governor had taken his sister-in-law down to the town, to show off his charge with as much pride as he could muster in the port town, so they were able to speak quite candidly for at least a few hours.  
  
'When is it going to be?' Laura asked, interested despite herself.  
  
She had never been one to consider weddings and marriage as anything other than a necessity, something that had to be done. Then she had come to Port Royale, to find that her cousin had married for love, not necessity, and was arranging a wedding for another such match. And she had met the commodore.  
  
Laura had never met anyone quite like James Norrington. So stiff and austere, and yet he was so genuinely fond of his cousin that she found it hard to believe that he was not a warm caring man. It had surprised her to hear that he had not yet found himself a wife, and she had found herself lying awake at night, thinking about that gentle smile of his and the warmth that lurked just behind his eyes. He was a man she could imagine being married to herself.  
  
'I don't know the dates,' Marin grimaced, drawing her out of her thoughts. 'Elizabeth has it all in hand.'  
  
Laughing, Elizabeth abandoned her husband to join the conversation.  
  
'You're just not making an effort, Marin,' she chided her friend. 'The wedding is going to be at the end of next week. Everyone we invited has said they're coming.'  
  
Marin blanched.  
  
'Who have you invited?' she asked, her face deathly pale.  
  
Elizabeth gave her a secretive smile and patted her hand.  
  
'That's for me to know and you to find out,' she said brightly.  
  
'Have you told the captain?' Laura asked, wanting to know exactly how they were going to get the pirate to his own wedding.  
  
'That's Will's job,' Elizabeth told them, her eyes sparkling with amusement. 'I suggested telling him the morning of the actual wedding would be a good time.'  
  
Both girls started to laugh, highly tickled by the thought of a groom who was unaware of his own pressing engagement until the day. Marin shook her head, trying to quell the butterflies that had started up within her. She had not realised that the wedding was so close, and found herself suddenly nervous, on edge. It wasn't that she didn't want to marry Jack, it was just that she wasn't sure she was ready for everything that being married would entail.  
  
Laura glanced up, brushing her dark hair from her face, and found James' eyes on her, dark with some unreadable emotion. Unwilling to break this somehow intimate moment of contact, she held the gaze, aware that her heart was hammering and her breathing had become shallow. For that long moment there was nothing else in the world for her but him. That warmth she had seen lurking behind his eyes flared suddenly, a soft smile crossing his face as he looked on her.  
  
Then he turned away, distracted by the captain beside him, leaving Laura to regain control of herself as she listened to Elizabeth and Marin arguing good-naturedly over something or other. What was wrong with her? She had never known a single look destroy her composure so devastatingly before, to warm her through from the inside out. With that one look, he had woken something inside her, though she could not name what it was, only that she needed him to stoke it. She needed him.  
  
The topic of the girls' conversation changed, drawing her out of the trance- like state she had found herself in.  
  
'So what are you going to do with the money?' Elizabeth had asked Marin, neither conceding defeat on the other subject.  
  
The Irish girl sighed.  
  
'Well, I'm hoping to make a sort of safe haven for the families of the men who sail with us,' she murmured. 'On the island my father left me. I want them to be safe, not in constant danger of being attacked or arrested for having a pirate for a father, or brother, or husband. Such things aren't right.'  
  
Elizabeth nodded, a soft frown on her face.  
  
'I know,' she said quietly. 'I had thought to do the same, but Will mentioned that we didn't have anywhere to set up. We thought we might buy a plot of land and start a trading company, somewhere pirates can trade for supplies and rum without fear of arrest.'  
  
'Why don't you set up on our island?' Marin invited. 'That way we can all stay together anyway.'  
  
She leant forward, grasping the older girl's hand tightly.  
  
'I've lost too much to lose contact with you, too, Elizabeth.'  
  
Laura was touched by the way Elizabeth wrapped her arms about her friend, murmuring her agreement into her ear as they pulled apart. They were very close, she realised, remembering everything they had been through together. No wonder, she thought. Marin didn't seem the type to need anyone, but it was blindingly obvious in those few moments just how she valued their friendship.  
  
Marin smiled impishly.  
  
'And if all goes to plan, will you be joining us, Miss Blythe?' she asked suddenly.  
  
Laura followed her glance to the commodore and blushed, confirming both women's suspicions that James' infatuation was not just a one way thing. Marin reached over and embraced her.  
  
'You're just what he needs,' she whispered to the embarrassed girl. 'I shall enjoy having you as a cousin.'  
  
Laura smiled shyly, not trusting herself to look up at them. But a part of her was overwhelmingly glad that these two approved so whole-heartedly with the match that was haunting her dreams. Mrs Laura Norrington . . . perhaps it wasn't such a foolish hope, after all.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Well, what do you think? Does the dear commodore deserve to be match-made or not? 


	33. Never Put A Pirate In A Corset

Yes, yet another double post, but trust me these two couldn't have been posted separately. Ioade and Kate appear courtesy of Ariandir, and you can catch a much better characterisation of them (by the original author, no less) by reading 'The Sundered Map'. Well worth a look! Right well, I'll let you get on with reading these then!  
  
*~*~*  
  
'Ow!'  
  
Elizabeth sighed in exasperation.  
  
'Hold still, will you?' she snapped.  
  
Marin scowled up at her via the mirror, hunched over in the night rail they had pressed her into that morning. Laura laughed at her expression, opening the box that contained the long awaited wedding dress. It had been made to Elizabeth's specifications, the sole purpose of the three days Marin had spent being 'measured and prodded and forced into dresses'. Mrs Turner had been adamant that her friend should look absolutely breath-taking on her wedding day.  
  
They had all heard Jack's reaction when Will had broken the news of his impending nuptials to him that morning, the expletives echoing around the house loudly. And being in one of the rooms on the first landing, they had also heard clearly the governor explaining to Lady Rosemary that Captain Jack was a rather clumsy young man, and had a habit of resorting to coarse language when he injured himself. That little conversation had set the three girls up for an enjoyable day.  
  
Marin had been dragged out of bed, bathed and dried and forced into the night rail until Laura and Elizabeth were prepared to dress her. The two ladies had insisted on doing everything for their friend, hence the rather brutal hair combing that was going on at the table right now. Elizabeth was trying to be gentle, but every time she snagged on a tangle, Marin would yelp and jump, making her in turn start in surprise.  
  
'Do I really have to do this today?' Marin asked suddenly. 'Can't I just put it off for another week?'  
  
Laura bit her lip to hold back the laughter as Elizabeth let out a long suffering sigh.  
  
'And what would you do at the end of next week, Marin?' she asked archly. 'Put it off for another week, and another . . . anyone would think you don't want to marry Jack.'  
  
She was quickly corrected.  
  
'Oh, no, I do want to marry him,' Marin hastened to assure her, wincing as the comb was dragged through her hair again. 'Just not . . . yet.'  
  
Elizabeth smiled gently, gesturing to Laura to come and help her with the hairstyle they had decided on the evening before. As the two women worked on her hair, Marin watched, marvelling at how feminine they had managed to make her look.  
  
'Why not yet, then?' Elizabeth asked her, her mouth full of hairpins.  
  
Marin sighed, looking more than a little nervous.  
  
'I just . . . don't feel ready,' she said awkwardly, not happy with herself for admitting what she obviously thought was a weakness.  
  
Elizabeth's eyebrows rose.  
  
'Has Jack not -?'  
  
'No,' Marin said hurriedly, not wanting to hear those words at all today in case the last of her courage disappeared. 'No, he hasn't.'  
  
'I thought maybe he had, given the amount of time you two spend together. I wonder why not?' Elizabeth mused, her voice muffled by the pins as she twisted her friend's hair up, then answered her own question. 'James.'  
  
Marin frowned.  
  
'Do you think so?' she asked, proving that in some ways, she was still an innocent.  
  
Elizabeth nodded.  
  
'It would have to be, Jack's not one to sit on a prize,' she muttered. 'But if James has been about, there is no way Jack would risk losing you to satisfy a suppressible urge.'  
  
'He has been lurking a lot recently,' Marin said thoughtfully. 'But why would Jack let that put him off?'  
  
She blushed, realising belatedly what it was they were neatly side-stepping mentioning. Elizabeth shared a smile with Laura, aware that her cousin was perhaps feeling a little left out of this conversation.  
  
'James has the right of blood over you, Mar,' she told her friend. 'If he told Jack to back off, Jack would. He has a great deal of respect for the dear commodore.'  
  
'As the commodore has for him,' Laura put in, wrapping a long strand of Marin's hair about the curling tongs.  
  
'Yes, but neither of them will even admit respect for each other, let alone the fact that they're actually becoming quite good friends,' Marin said irritably, trying to lean away from the hot metal. 'I'm between a rock and a hard place, and I don't know which is which.'  
  
'You will after tonight,' Elizabeth murmured, ignoring the scandalised gasps that issued from her companions. 'I'm just telling the truth, there's no need to look so shocked.'  
  
She looked over their handiwork with a critical eye as Laura unwrapped the last of the curled strands from the cooling metal tongs.  
  
'It'll do,' she said, satisfied. 'I don't think we'll need to rouge her cheeks, Laura, I'll just keep mentioning the wedding night and she'll be as rosy as we need her to be.'  
  
'Elizabeth!' Marin protested weakly, as Laura exploded in a gale of very unladylike laughter.  
  
Elizabeth drew her friend to her feet, chuckling at her expression as she turned to the dress that was laid out on the bed. Marin's eyes widened as her gaze fell on a very familiar part of the undergarments.  
  
'No,' she said firmly. 'I am not wearing that again.'  
  
Laura lifted the corset off the bed as Elizabeth, ignoring her friend's protests, slipped her into the soft shift that would go underneath said instrument of torture.  
  
'Elizabeth, I couldn't breathe the last time you forced me into one of those!' Marin pointed out, backing away as Elizabeth turned to help Laura loosen the lacings on the corset. 'And I was attacked! They're bad luck, that's what they are. You should never put a pirate in a corset!'  
  
'Keep your voice down,' Laura chided her mildly as they approached. 'Mother will hear you.'  
  
'Please,' the hapless young woman pleaded, realising she had nowhere to run to, not dressed as she was. 'Please don't put me in a corset again.'  
  
But Elizabeth was already manuvering it over her head, firmly moving her arms out of the way as the boned bodice was slipped into place about her torso. Marin gave up, grimacing in defeat as Laura joined her cousin in lacing up the damned thing. All her weapons had been removed with no amount of little force the night before, courtesy of her dear cousin. His gentlemanly propriety had gone out of the window when faced with an armed pirate who wasn't about to give her weapons lightly. Amid the gasps and muttered oaths, the two women managed to tie the piece tight enough to allow them to fit the dress on their suddenly very unwilling bride.  
  
'I will die happy if I never have to put one of these on again,' Marin muttered, walking around the room to allow herself to grow accustomed to the restrictive underwear once more. It wasn't as tight as it had been the last time, leaving her enough room to breathe comfortably whilst providing the already slender girl with a smooth figure for the day.  
  
The petticoat was carefully lowered over her head, and then the dress, both ladies exclaiming over the beauty of the piece as they tied their friend into it. It was in a beautiful shade of peacock blue, embroidered in silver thread on the bodice and the hem of the skirt. The sleeves ended at the elbow, set off with a cascade of soft lace to soften the sharp edge. With matching slippers to complete the wedding gown, Marin could not have looked less like herself if she had tried. Elizabeth was certain Jack's jaw would hit the floor when he saw her.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Gibbs leant on the door to the little chapel, greeting the guests as they filed in. Every piratical face was pulled to one side and disarmed, their garb checked over for any discrepancies. They had realised fairly quickly that there was no way the crews of the Black Pearl or the Red Dragon were going to miss this match, so the word had gone out that anyone who turned up in less than respectable clothes would be turned away, forcibly if need be. That was the sole reason Gibbs was there, to make sure none of the pirates let themselves down.  
  
However, the pirates were more than capable of providing themselves with decent clothing, and even more aware of their not so impeccable manners. Unbeknownst to Gibbs, or indeed, anyone up at Governor's House, they had been seeking out Will in his forge to ascertain just what constituted good behaviour at such an occasion, especially when the word came back to them that Lady Blythe was to be attending.  
  
'Good morning, Mr Gibbs,' a familiar voice said, and he glanced up into Ana Maria's wide grin.  
  
He swallowed, looking over her dress with a critical eye. She laughed at his expression.  
  
'Do you like it?' she asked, her tone teasing. 'Giselle leant it to me.'  
  
Gibbs bit back a laugh of his own. He was sure the dress was one of Giselle's finest, but Ana Maria had topped it off with her hat and coat, making for a certainly mis-matched appearance.  
  
'Very nice, miss,' he complimented her. 'Here for the wedding then?'  
  
Ana Maria gave him an arch look.  
  
'Did you think I'd miss it?' she shot back. 'I'm here to make sure he doesn't run away from her.'  
  
This time, Gibbs let himself laugh.  
  
'Aren't we all, Ana?' he told her.  
  
Glancing at the pile of commandeered weapons beside him, she dug a hand into her bodice, withdrawing a slim dagger.  
  
'Now, I refuse to believe that that's the only weapon you've got on you, Ana,' he said sharply. 'There's to be no fighting or threatening. Commodore's orders.'  
  
She scowled.  
  
'What has he got to do with this?' she demanded, sounding surprised.  
  
Gibbs grinned.  
  
'He's giving the bride away,' he chuckled, highly tickled by her shocked expression.  
  
There was a tug on his sleeve and he looked down into Dugan's anxious face.  
  
'Aye, lad, what is it?'  
  
'The priest's makin' a run fer it, Mr Gibbs,' he was told.  
  
His eyes widened.  
  
'Bloody hell!' he swore, and set off down the track, where a figure in back and white could be seen running as fast as possible towards the town.  
  
'Now there's a sight you don't often see,' said another familiar voice, and Ana Maria turned to see another old friend saunter towards her.  
  
Ioade hadn't changed since the last time they had met, though her eyes were haunted by the sadness that told Ana Maria that the Dark Horse was not forgotten. If that was the case, what on earth was the tawny haired captain doing here? It had been Jack who had parted her forever from her ship after all. She had scrounged up a dress from somewhere, and wore it far more easily that Ana Maria did her own.  
  
'Morning, Ana,' she said cheerfully. 'Where's Gibbs off to?'  
  
'Catching the priest,' Ana Maria laughed. 'The man of the cloth has had a change of heart.'  
  
Ioade laughed as well, nodding towards the track where another figure had stepped into the priest's path. Sunlight glinted off metal as a rather unique weapon was brandished in his general direction.  
  
'It looks as though he's had second thoughts,' she commented. 'I wondered when Kate was going to turn up.'  
  
'That's Kate?' Ana Maria asked, incredulous.  
  
Ioade grinned.  
  
'Yeah, I thought I'd better bring her along in case Will had trouble keeping track of the bridegroom.'  
  
Ana Maria nodded in sudden understanding.  
  
'You've still not forgiven Jack then?' she asked.  
  
Ioade snorted.  
  
'Of course not,' she laughed. 'He deserves to squirm for a good few years before I do that. I still can't believe little Marin managed to snare him.'  
  
'From what I hear,' Ana Maria said conspiratorily, 'she had a bit of help from His Majesty's Royal Navy.'  
  
Laughing, arm in arm, the two women made their way into the little chapel to await the arrival of the husband-and-wife-to-be. 


	34. Man And Wife

Once again, Ioade and Kate belong to Ariandir . . . and if you don't know who everyone else belongs to, I suggest you go and read the disclaimer at the top of chapter one. Savvy?  
  
*~*~*  
  
The little chapel was full to bursting, the guests segregated firmly away from each other into those who had come for the bride and those who had come for the groom. Marin had been introduced to several of the officers from the ward-room at the fort, and so they had brought their wives to the ceremony, simply to add a bit of class to the occasion since the groom's side of the chapel was entirely made up of pirates, even if they were on their best behaviour.  
  
Jack sat in the front pew, looking very much like a prisoner under escort with Will and Gibbs on either side of him. In fact, he looked as though he would like nothing more than to run away. But the presence of Ioade by the nave entrance, and Kate at the vestry door, was preventing any such escape from taking place. He'd not even attempted to speak to either of them yet, knowing they were still highly annoyed with him for the destruction of the Dark Horse, even though that particular venture had turned out to be profitable for all of them.  
  
The priest swallowed, smiling down at the groom with sympathetic eyes. He had been accosted on his own escape by the dark-haired young woman now standing watch in his vestry, who had threatened him with his own quick demise if he didn't turn around and go back to the chapel like a good boy. The Gibbs man had laughed a lot at that, he recalled, glancing towards the raven-haired woman with a frightened grimace. She smiled pleasantly and nodded to him, tapping her fingers on her axe-pistol in a friendly sort of way.  
  
Jack sighed, glancing nervously towards the nave entrance.  
  
'What if she doesn't turn up?' he asked suddenly, startling Will who had thought his friend struck dumb by the fast pace of events.  
  
He grasped the tense pirate's shoulder firmly, forcing Jack to look him in the eye before answering.  
  
'She'll be here, Jack, stop worrying,' he told his friend. 'Why should she not turn up?'  
  
Jack shrugged.  
  
'Might've changed her mind,' he suggested. 'Like I wish I had.'  
  
Will chuckled.  
  
'No, you don't,' he assured the irascible pirate. 'I thought like that while I was waiting for Elizabeth to come to the chapel.'  
  
The eager hope on Jack's face might have been comical if it hadn't been so worrying at the same time.  
  
'You did?'  
  
Will nodded, smiling gently at his friend.  
  
'Yes,' he repeated. 'Marin loves you, Jack, she's not going to let you get away from her.'  
  
Jack sighed softly, relaxing slightly under his friend's grip. Gibbs nudged him.  
  
'She's here,' he muttered.  
  
Will hauled the bridegroom to his feet, exchanging a look with Gibbs as all the colour drained from Jack's face. Thank goodness this would be over with shortly, he thought, concerned for his friend despite himself.  
  
It was just as well Jack was facing the altar, for as soon as Marin stepped into the back of the chapel, she turned around, determined to leave just as quickly as she had arrived. James caught her about the waist as she pushed past him, holding her still with a firm arm whilst murmuring in her ear.  
  
'You don't want to make your captain a jilted man, do you?' he asked her softly, acutely aware that the entire day hinged on whether they could get both bride and groom to the altar in time to say their vows.  
  
Marin shook her head, shaking violently as she thought of what it was she was about to do.  
  
'I'm scared,' she whispered, holding tightly to his arm.  
  
James smiled gently, amused that she should choose now to admit such a feeling.  
  
'Jack Sparrow is a good man,' he murmured. 'He would never hurt you. He loves you, Marin. You don't want to break his heart, do you?'  
  
As he coaxed his cousin into taking those fateful steps down the aisle, Elizabeth found herself face to face with one of the women she had invited personally. Ioade grinned at her, pleased to see that neither bride nor groom were completely confident in their parts for the day.  
  
'It's good to see you, captain,' Elizabeth said softly, not wanting anyone in the body of the church to turn around and see that the bride wasn't exactly willing.  
  
'I wouldn't have missed this for the world,' Ioade informed her, still grinning as Marin allowed herself to be turned around again. 'It'll be a badge of honour to have attended Jack Sparrow's wedding by the end of the year, you mark my words.'  
  
Elizabeth laughed, quickly returning to her place in the bridal train as James led his reluctant cousin onto the aisle. The organist had been 'unavailable' for the wedding, but it somehow fitted that Marin should walk up the aisle in silence. Almost as though it were a mark of respect for the sacrifice that she was making.  
  
Will nudged Jack as Marin ventured out with her cousin, clutching his sleeve with a tight grip. Jack turned to watch as his fiancé walked towards him, and his jaw dropped. She looked beautiful. Granted, she didn't look like Marin anymore, but then, today he didn't look like Captain Jack Sparrow. She held his gaze with eyes that seemed obscenely calm and serene, as indeed she herself looked. Briefly he let himself smart at the unfairness of her being calm and him terrified, before unashamedly admiring her beauty as openly as he could amidst his near crippling nerves.  
  
Lady Rosemary Blythe was sat with her daughter and brother-in-law amidst the navy families, her great-nephew cradled on her lap. She smiled indulgently on the couple as Marin reached the altar, completely missing the significance of James on Marin's left, Will on Jack's right, and Gibbs and Elizabeth standing close behind the pair. Laura, on the other hand, had to suppress a loud giggle as she realised that all escape routes had been cut off neatly.  
  
'Oh, isn't it lovely,' Lady Rosemary sighed. 'They're so much in love.'  
  
Laura glanced at her mother in amusement, leaning over to whisper to her uncle.  
  
'Do you have a handkerchief with you today, uncle?' she asked softly, quietly enough so that her mother didn't hear her.  
  
Governor Swann frowned, patting his pockets until he located his 'kerchief.  
  
'Why, yes, I do, Laura,' he told her. 'Do you have need of one?'  
  
'No,' Laura admitted, 'but mother will. She always cries at weddings.'  
  
Weatherby Swann rolled his eyes wearily, glancing sideways at his sister-in- law to discover that she did indeed have tears in her eyes. He sighed, slipping the 'kerchief to his sleeve so as to keep it handy.  
  
'Oh dear,' he murmured, sensing a long afternoon ahead of him.  
  
Marin was still shaking as she approached the altar, slipping her hand into Jack's more for moral support than anything. At least she knew they were both in this together, whether they wanted it or not. He squeezed her hand firmly, the slight tremble in his own fingers betraying his less than serene composure. That made her feel a little better. It wasn't just her who was supremely nervous.  
  
The priest cast one final, longing look at the outside world over Kate's shoulder before turning to the couple before him, touched by the fear dominant in their eyes. He'd officiated many marriages, even that of the Turners, but never once had he joined two people so terrified of each other before. It was an awe-inspiring sight, that they loved one another enough to put themselves through something they both feared to be together.  
  
It was, Elizabeth decided later, one of the shortest weddings she had ever been to. The priest was so scared of Kate that he fairly galloped through the ceremony, eager to be out from under the gaze of so many pirates. Marin and Jack had both had to repeat their vows because they were too quiet for everyone to hear. There had been one heart-stopping moment, though.  
  
When the priest had asked if anyone present knew of any lawful impediment why these two should not be joined in holy matrimony, there had been a shout from one of the pirates. Luckily, both Hopkins and Solomon had been sitting near the offending seaman, who had been promptly encouraged to take a nap, allowing the ceremony to continue. And the cheer that filled the chapel as they were pronounced man and wife could have deafened the angels. Jack grinned down at his wife, laughing with her at the apparently boundless joy of their friends as they were cheered by all and sundry. Gibbs nudged him sharply, grinning from ear to ear.  
  
'Go on, then, boy,' he pressed. 'Kiss her.'  
  
Marin blushed, no more able to stop herself from accepting the kiss than she would have been able to drown a fish. The shouting seemed to grow louder as their lips touched, Jack's arms snaking about her waist to hold her tightly against him. And everything about him, from his scent to the fingers gently rubbing at her back, everything was perfect.  
  
*~*~*  
  
The two men walked through the house, both steadfastly ignoring the catcalls that echoed up to them from the entry hall as the pirates gathered together below the landing to see their captain into his wedding chamber. Jack rolled his eyes, inwardly amused by this ridiculous little tradition they had insisted he go through. He would rather have slipped away from the party unnoticed with his tense little bride, rather than make such a huge fuss of this simple yet fundamental part of the wedding day.  
  
'You don't have to walk me to my own bedchamber,' he hissed at Will as they mounted the steps, still ignoring the whistles from behind them.  
  
Will grinned.  
  
'Yes, I do,' he insisted. 'It's tradition. And I have to collect my wife.'  
  
Elizabeth had taken Marin away from them perhaps half an hour earlier to prepare her for bed, an ordeal which no doubt had included a lot of teasing from the experienced woman. Jack would be very surprised if his own wife wasn't a sobbing wreck by the time he reached her.  
  
His own wife. A gentle smile curved the pirate's lips. He was married, and Marin was his wife. He couldn't stop repeating those words over and over in his head, enjoying the possessive feeling he could now have whenever he thought of her. Poor girl, he thought, she must be frightened out of her skull about what was to come. But he was determined not to let her be frightened, ever again.  
  
They reached the doorway fairly quickly, Will knocking gently on the painted wood to let the women inside know that they were there. Elizabeth opened the door, a secretive smile on her face as she slipped out to join them, ushering Jack inside as they locked the two of them in. Will grinned down at his wife, fighting back a laugh as she slipped the key into her pocket and led him back down to join the celebration.  
  
Jack stood just inside the door, his eyes fixed on Marin where she stood by the window, dressed only in her shift. For the first time, he saw her hair unbound, tumbling over her shoulders in a sea of mahogany shimmers, and he knew such a sight was for one man's eyes only. She didn't turn as he approached, laying his coat on the chair as he passed it, to stand behind her, looking out across the harbour.  
  
He slipped his arms about her, entwining his fingers with his own as he rested his head on her shoulder. Her cheeks were warm with a nervous blush, he realised as she leant back into his embrace, her neck tickled by his dreadlocks as he held her close to him. She glanced down at their intertwined hands, at the golden bands that dictated to her a lifetime by the side of the man she loved. It still felt strange to be wearing a ring, but she knew, no matter the discomfort, she would never take it off.  
  
Jack stared out across the water, listening to the soft sigh of her breathing as she slowly calmed herself once more, unable to quell her shaking as she leant back into his arms. She heard him sigh gently, pressing a tender kiss below her ear.  
  
'Afraid?' he asked gently, feeling her tremble beneath his touch.  
  
Unable to speak, Marin nodded jerkily, her eyes fixed on the view before them. Jack smiled faintly.  
  
'Don't ever be afraid of me,' he murmured, turning her about to face him.  
  
As she glanced up, love for him shining through her eyes, he kissed her deeply, running his fingers through her hair as she pressed herself against him. Suddenly, the world didn't matter, her fears and nerves didn't matter, everything was as it should be. Because she was with him. 


	35. Revenge

James watched as Will and Jack, dressed as himself once more, finished up with the merchants who had agreed to provision their ships for the six month journey to and from Cape Horn. They had arranged to leave at the end of the week, after which those left of Danielson's crew were to be marooned. They hadn't been hung simply because almost every hanging they attempted in Port Royale went ridiculously wrong. Of course, Jack Sparrow was usually the one on the wrong end of the rope, hence the bad reputation of the hangman, but the commodore was taking no chances.  
  
He glanced down at Marin where she stood beside him, her steely grey eyes, as ever, looking out over the water. It had been cruel of him, he realised, to keep both her and her husband on land for so long. They were both creatures of the elements, but without this long stay, they would not be tied so tightly together.  
  
A wince crossed his face as he remembered Marin's reaction to the source of Jack's proposal. It had been the morning after the wedding, and quite by accident Elizabeth had mentioned it to her as they slipped out of the drawing room. Marin had come straight back and slapped him, harder than most women could manage, he imagined. Amid the laughter, she'd then smiled softly, embracing him warmly and whispered a heart-felt thank you to him as he reeled from her angry reaction.  
  
They'd been married for just over a month now, and as yet no marital tiffs had broken up the happy home. Thankfully they had got over the love-struck phase of their relationship whilst on board the Dragon, sparing those sharing Governor's House with them the embarrassment of watching two people so caught up in one another they had no time for anyone else.  
  
A pleased smile lit up his features as he thought of the person he had spent most of his spare time over the last month with. Laura had drawn him in masterfully, and now was reluctant to let go, though he, too, could hardly bear the thought that they would be apart for so long as six months. Lady Blythe had been giving him meaningful looks, which he had taken to be an invitation to propose, but he hardly felt it fair to ask a young woman to marry him just before he took to the sea on a voyage he may or may not come back from.  
  
Something prodded his leg, and he looked down to find Marin tapping the point of her sabre against his calf. She grinned up at him.  
  
'She's a lovely girl, James,' she said pointedly, having guessed the content of his thoughts.  
  
James shook his head warningly at her, unable to stop the fond smile that curved his lips as he watched her artfully match-make. She really did look so much more like herself in a shirt and trousers, he thought absently, before returning his attention to her comment.  
  
'I know she is, but I will not make her a widow just to make her a wife,' he told his cousin.  
  
She nodded.  
  
'I understand,' she said softly. 'But at least make her aware of how you feel for her. You're so good at hiding behind Commodore Norrington that Laura doesn't think James likes her at all.'  
  
He grimaced, unsure whether to be pleased or exasperated that Marin had finally spotted the difference between James and Commodore Norrington. As he thought back over his conversations with Miss Blythe, though, he realised she was right. The commodore had been present at all of them, with no sign of the man within who was growing increasingly attached to the young woman.  
  
Marin's hand closed over his arm, squeezing gently.  
  
'Tell her, James,' she said just as softly as before. 'Even if all you do is ask her to wait for you, tell her.'  
  
He covered her hand with his own, nodding reluctantly as she smiled in quiet triumph.  
  
There was a shout from the fort suddenly, the sound of a single bell tolling the alarm. They glanced at one another as Will and Jack returned to their side, all four looking over at the military station that seemed suddenly alive with running men. A small boy came pelting up the street towards them, skidding to a halt before James and ripping off a sloppy salute.  
  
'Captain Leighton sends his regards, sir, and says to tell you that the pirates have escaped,' he said breathlessly.  
  
James felt his features tighten in alarm, feeling Marin's hands go to her sabre and pistol.  
  
'How long ago?' he asked the boy.  
  
The lad shrugged.  
  
'About fifteen minutes, I'd say,' he told them, dismissed with a curt nod as he turned to hurry back to the fort.  
  
James glanced at his companions, seeing the horror written their faces and knowing it was reflected in his own.  
  
'Danielson's men will be wanting revenge,' Jack said starkly, holding Marin's gaze with a look that said everything she needed to know.  
  
'The house,' she murmured.  
  
Will cursed.  
  
'Elizabeth!' he spat, breaking into a run with the others close behind him as they drew their weapons, hoping against hope that their suspicions were wrong.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Marin crouched in the bushes by the wayside track that led up to Governor's House, her cousin beside her. Jack and Will had taken to climbing the escarpment to enter the building. There was no sound or movement from within, but the three pirates lounging bonelessly on the steps were enough to tell them that Danielson's men had taken the house and all its inhabitants.  
  
James quietly unsheathed his sword, wincing as the metallic sound rang out across the silent scene. Luckily, the pirates either didn't notice, or didn't care. Marin sighed softly, and he could almost hear her working out her tactics in her head.  
  
'We need to know where they're keeping the women,' she said, her voice almost inaudible as the breeze blew the words away. 'The governor is down at the fort, at least we know that.'  
  
James nodded.  
  
'They're likely to have been kept altogether,' he muttered. 'But should those men have any urges, who knows where they are?'  
  
Marin gave him an arch look.  
  
'Thanks, that makes me feel so much better,' she breathed acidly.  
  
James grinned, an expression oddly reminiscent of Jack, feeling the familiar rush of adrenaline pump through him as he prepared for the fight that would surely come. Marin shifted carefully, trying not to disturb the greenery around them, ignoring the suuden thought that maybe the commodore was spending too much time with her husband.  
  
'I'll see if I can draw them off,' she told him. 'Whoever stays behind, you finish off as quietly as you can. Right?'  
  
James nodded sharply.  
  
'Right.'  
  
She slipped back down the wayside a little way, emerging onto the dusty track just around the corner, walking nonchalantly up towards the house where the pirates would clearly see her. James watched, tense in the bushes, as she approached the lounging men. As they looked up at her, she let rip with a gasp that could have woken a sleeping watchman, turned, and ran headlong back down the path. As he had thought might happen, two of the pirates took off after her, the third suddenly alert for any other attackers.  
  
James glanced about for any way to get behind the guard without alerting him to his presence. Nothing showed up. He fumbled in the dirt for a moment, his fingers closing over a sizeable stone. He hefted it, waiting until the pirate wasn't looking at his bush, and threw the stone towards the other side of the track, where it dislodged some slate piled against the track. The pirate cursed softly, edging towards where the noise had come from. As he passed James' hiding place, the commodore rose to his feet and slammed the hilt of his sword down onto the back of the pirate's head. He slumped with barely a sound.  
  
There was a muffled cursed nearby, and he spun, ready to attack, finding no one there. Another curse followed the first, and James found his gaze drawn to the escarpment, where a hand was flailing around for purchase on the scrubby grass. He hurried over, grasping Jack's hand and hauling the man over the edge, leaning down to do the same for Will as the younger man's extremities appeared on the grass a little further down. They crouched together in the greenery, Will and Jack testing their arms gently as they drew their breathing under control.  
  
'Where's Marin?' Jack whispered hoarsely, his eyes flashing with alarm at the thought of any injury to his wife.  
  
'Coming,' James told him. 'She drew off two of the guards they'd set about ten minutes ago, she'll be here in a moment.'  
  
There was a rustle in the bushes beside them.  
  
'Who will?' Marin asked, slipping into a crouch beside them. She grinned at their startled expressions. 'There's no one else out front.'  
  
'So we go in the back,' Will said tersely, worried for his wife and son.  
  
Jack nodded, and still close to the ground, led the way beneath the windows to the back of the house. As they passed beneath the drawing room window, Marin grasped the back of Will's shirt, one finger to her lips as she signalled for him to listen. There were voices within, some recognisable.  
  
'You won't get away with this,' they heard Elizabeth say clearly. 'My father is the governor of this town, do you really think the fort is just going to stand by and let this happen?'  
  
There was a rasping laugh from close by the window.  
  
'Shut up, lady,' a harsh voice ordered. 'You wouldn't want the baby to have an accident, now, would you?'  
  
Marin's hand closed tightly over Will's mouth, effectively holding him down and silent as Elizabeth gasped in shock. Her aunt appeared to be in there with her, judging by the sounds of protest that were going on.  
  
'What have you done with my daughter?' Rosemary Blythe demanded, still commanding despite the situation.  
  
'Ah, so the lady in the bedroom be yer daughter, do she?' another voice asked. 'She be well, fer now.'  
  
Elizabeth spoke up again, sounding close to tears.  
  
'What do you want from us?'  
  
A third voice answered her, as dry as the first.  
  
'We want nothing from you, lady,' he rasped. 'We want little Marin Delaney's blood spilt. Every last drop.'  
  
Amid the gasps of shock from within, Will glanced back at Marin's suddenly pale face, motioning her to follow him around to join the others. Jack looked ready to leap up and find them as they rounded the corner.  
  
'Why the hell did you stop?' he demanded.  
  
They quickly told the two men what they had heard, Marin glossing over their reason for being there.  
  
'How many of the pirates were left in the cells?' she asked James, her voice still low.  
  
He thought for a moment.  
  
'Seven,' he told her.  
  
Marin nodded.  
  
'So there's only one in with Laura, whichever bedroom she holed up in,' she told them. The last three are all in with Elizabeth and Lady Rosemary.'  
  
James leant forward.  
  
'I'll take the single one,' he offered. 'I know the house better than any of you. And besides, you can fight better together than you could with me.'  
  
Will nodded, anxious to get in there and rescue his family. Glancing at his wife's pale face, Jack agreed, motioning James to enter first. The commodore heard a muttered conversation behind him, and footsteps leading away, dismissing it as he set himself up for a fight to the death. As the three passed through the hall, he nodded briefly to Jack, turning to hurry up the stairs.  
  
He slipped silently along the passageway, listening intently for any sound that could pinpoint where Laura could be being held. A soft noise drew his attention to the guestrooms to his left, to the room where he slept whenever he could be pressed into spending the night up at Governor's House. Leaning close to the door, he listened for a moment, feeling his blood boil. From within came the sounds of an uneven struggle, Laura sobbing in fear and pain as she tried to fight against her guard. James could hear the pirate laughing, his grip tightening on his sword as he quietly turned the handle.  
  
The scene that met his eyes turned his simmering anger into full blown fury. Laura was pressed against the wall, both her wrists held over her head as he kissed her brutally, running his free hand over her ripped bodice. James slammed the door behind him, his face as black as thunder.  
  
The pirate spun, throwing Laura to one side as he drew his sabre. Furious as he was, James suddenly found himself cold inside, repeating everything he had ever been taught over and over in his head. As the blades crashed together, he found his mind casting back to a sunny day, when he had watched two friends fighting by the escarpment, each teaching the other new tricks. He caught the pirate's fist as it lashed out at his midriff, twisting the limb violently until the other man yelled in pain and anger. From below them came the sounds of another fight, far more blunt and to the point than this.  
  
James threw the pirate back from him, hearing Marin's words repeated in his head as he watched the man stumbled backwards, losing his balance as he careered into the dresser.  
  
'You have to be aware of the scenery around you.'  
  
He was aware of this scenery, he had lived in it, slept in it, knew this room almost as well as himself. His opponent, however, knew nothing of the bedchamber he was fighting in, or the man he was fighting, though James recognised him as the one who had given him his latest scar. He owed this man for the gash on his abdomen that had led to his cousin's murder.  
  
Laura cried out suddenly, and he barely managed to duck as the pirate hurled a vase at his head, throwing him off balance momentarily. The pirate pressed his advantage, obviously hoping to knock the commodore off balance, but the navy man had learnt a thing or two from his time among pirates. He slipped a hand into his sleeve, withdrawing a slender knife and stabbing it into the pirate's sword arm. The man staggered back, and for a moment, James saw Dugan as he staggered back from Marin, clutching at a wound that was not there.  
  
The blades came together once more, though now it was clear who would be the victor in this battle. James pressed forward, forcing the pirate backwards, out onto the balcony, blood seeping from the wound he had inflicted with his unexpected thrust. The pirate leant heavily on the balcony, refusing to admit defeat as the commodore advanced on him. Their blades met one last time, and the pirate toppled backwards off the balcony, overbalancing with frightening sudden-ness. James reached out to catch him, and once again heard Marin's voice in his head.  
  
'An enemy would let you fall,' he murmured, staring down at the crumpled body on the ground below.  
  
There was a muted sob behind him, and he turned to find Laura leaning heavily against the bed post, tears of relief running down her face as she stared at him. He wiped his sword clean on the bed clothes, sheathing it carefully, and turned to gaze down at her, concern dominant in his eyes.  
  
'What did he do to you?' he asked her gently, steel beneath his words as he spoke.  
  
She shook her head.  
  
'Nothing,' she sobbed. 'Nothing beyond what you saw, but he . . . he could so easily . . .'  
  
She threw herself forward into his arms, uncaring that it was not the proper thing to do, only knowing that this was the man who had saved her from her attacker, and who now held her close in a way she would never allow any other man to do. 


	36. Beneath The Stars

Jack and Will watched the commodore up the stairs before advancing to the drawing room, knowing they had only a few seconds of surprise before the pirates settled into the fight. Hoping the women would know to stay out of the way, they crept forward, both tense as they thought on what they were to do.  
  
The voices were still talking as Will pressed his eye to the crack of the door.  
  
'One by the window,' he murmured. 'Elizabeth and Rosemary are on the sofa with Matthew, there's a man behind them. And the last is just the other side of the door.'  
  
Jack nodded, hoping Marin knew what she was doing. He had every confidence in her ability, he was just worried that she may find herself overpowered in a fight such as this. He shook his fears from his mind, adjusting his hold on the pistol and sabre in his hands as he exchanged a glance with Will.  
  
They burst into the room, the door slamming violently into one of the pirates and knocking him sideways. As Will leapt over the furniture to grapple with the man standing too close to his beloved wife for comfort, Elizabeth grabbed Lady Rosemary and pushed her down onto the floor, kneeling with her, the baby cradled close in her arms.  
  
Jack shot at the pirate by the window, missing completely as the other lunged at him from his right, falling backwards under a flurry of blows that could have killed him if he hadn't expected it. The remaining pirate grinned, drawing his pistol and pointing it at Elizabeth's head. She gazed along the barrel calmly, aware that there was a third party who had not yet made an appearance.  
  
Will's eyes widened as he saw the threat to his wife, but was unable to help her as his opponent smashed against him again, winding the younger man with the sheer force of his blow. Jack was otherwise engaged, fighting from the awkward position of lying on his back, having not had the chance to regain his feet.  
  
A shadow passed over the window, and Marin leapt through, kicking the pistol from the pirate's grip as he pulled the trigger. The bullet slammed harmlessly into the ceiling as she landed with catlike grace, already circling the furious man as he drew his own blade. Marin deflected it easily as he lunged, and the deadly dance began.  
  
Lady Rosemary stared around her in disbelief, quickly growing angry at the sight of three people she had grown very fond of over the past weeks engaged in battles to save her and her niece. She glanced towards the fire, motioning Elizabeth to stay where she was, and drew the poker from the stand by the fire. Rising from her knees, she turned to the nearest pirate, and stabbed.  
  
Jack only just managed to roll out of the way before the injured party collapsed on him, howling in pain from his latest wound. He grinned up at the shocked Lady Rosemary, hauling himself to his feet and divesting her of her weapon.  
  
'My thanks, my lady,' he bowed.  
  
Lady Rosemary nodded absently, meekly accepting her grand-nephew into her embrace as Elizabeth rose to join them. The younger woman scowled at the man giving her husband as sound beating, her hands closing around one of the heavy cut-glass decanters that rested on the table. Jack's eyes widened and he moved quickly to direct her hands to another one.  
  
'Not the brandy, love,' he muttered, turning in time to lash out at Lady Rosemary's victim with the poker, sweeping his legs out from under him with a practised ease. There was a crack as the man's leg broke under the blow and he slumped, whimpering pathetically.  
  
Elizabeth, armed with the sherry decanter, strode firmly up behind Will's opponent, and slammed the very solid base down over his head. To everyone's surprise, it didn't smash, but made a very satisfying thunk against his skull as he crumpled to the ground. Will stared at his wife, eyes wide, though he knew he shouldn't have expected her to keep out of the fight.  
  
Jack was already moving to where Marin remained locked in her own private battle, her movements and actions too swift and varied for her friends to get involved without risking injury to her. The pirate drew a dagger, slashing towards her face. She ducked, and met his knee rising to bang against her forehead. Partially stunned, she staggered back, and the pirate raised his sword to finish her off.  
  
A strong hand caught his wrist, and he glanced sideways to look into Will Turner's furious face.  
  
'I wouldn't do that if I were you,' he murmured, nodding towards Marin with a pleasant smile.  
  
Confused, the pirate turned back, and Jack punched him, hard, his fist still enclosed in the guard of his sabre. Will let go as the unconscious man slid to the ground, and found himself on the receiving end of a warm embrace as Elizabeth flew into his arms. Jack knelt beside his own wife, tenderly stroking the hair back off her face as she fought to focus.  
  
'Done?' she managed, blinking feverishly in an effort to regain control of her blurred vision.  
  
Jack grinned.  
  
'And dusted,' he said, hauling her to her feet as James entered, Laura held close by his side.  
  
No one was very surprised when the young woman refused to leave the safety of his arms to embrace her mother, ascertaining by sight alone that Lady Rosemary was fine. The older woman glanced around at the three pairings about her, inwardly pleased with what she saw.  
  
Then, something registered.  
  
'Mrs Sparrow, what on earth are you wearing?'  
  
*~*~*  
  
Governor Swann walked slowly beside his sister-in-law, both maintaining a respectful distance from the now-officially-courting couple ahead of them. His thoughts were on the danger that had arisen to those he loved best the day before, and how powerless he had been to prevent it. If Jack Sparrow and his companions had not taken action, this walk would not be one he would be making in such company. He had almost lost everything he held most dear, and it had hit him hard.  
  
He had been asked to witness the executions that morning. Normally, the mild-mannered man did not care for the firing squad, but it had been agreed that it was the best way to dispatch the offending pirates. So, at dawn, he had stood beside Commodore Norrington and watched, coldly and dispassionately, as those who would have killed his own left this world for the next, be it heaven or hell.  
  
Lady Rosemary grasped his arm suddenly, and he obediently paused, glancing ahead to where James and Laura stood together, talking quite earnestly about something or other, it seemed. He shook his head with a chuckle. When he had been courting, he recalled many an hour when nothing was said at all, both parties just staring at one another in mutual discomfort. But then, James had shed blood for young Laura, and that sort of thing must encourage companionship rather than coldness. There was certainly no lack of warmth in the smile they shared before continuing their walk.  
  
'When do you suppose he'll propose to her?' Rosemary said longingly. 'Surely he cannot mean to leave her hanging.'  
  
Swann swallowed the inappropriate smile that rose in response to his sister- in-law's tone, and coughed quietly.  
  
'James isn't one to give anyone false hope, Rosemary,' he told her softly. 'This voyage to Cape Horn is one he may not survive. The Horn is notorious for the number of accidents that happen as ships round her.'  
  
'But he's been round the Horn before, hasn't he?' she asked. 'I heard him mention it to Captain Sparrow.'  
  
Swann smiled gently at her, squeezing her hand.  
  
'Once,' he told her. 'With a different ship, and different men. This will be as much of a challenge as the first time. But should he return, I have no doubt that he will ask for Laura's hand.'  
  
Rosemary frowned.  
  
'But how long will that take?' she sighed. 'We cannot stay out here forever, Weatherby.'  
  
'Why not?' the governor asked suddenly.  
  
She stared at him.  
  
'Well, because we'll have to go home, to England,' she said, but she didn't sound too pleased with that prospect.  
  
Swann's smile widened.  
  
'Why?' he pressed.  
  
Rosemary held his gaze for a long moment.  
  
'Because, well, England is our home,' she told him, aware of how flimsy that excuse sounded.  
  
'Why not make your home out here, with me?' he asked her, adding hastily, 'Not married, though. Just family, living under the same roof. It can be terribly lonesome living alone in that big house.'  
  
She rolled her eyes, slapping his wrist lightly.  
  
'Oh, go on, you,' she said, laughing. 'I'll think about it. After all, I'll have plenty of time for that when they leave.'  
  
They glanced ahead to where Laura had slipped her arm into James', his other hand folding warmly over hers as he smiled down at her.  
  
'That does seem to be progressing nicely,' Swann said fondly. 'I hope absence does what it's supposed to do.'  
  
Rosemary smiled softly.  
  
'I should think that it will, Weatherby,' she assured him. 'There's too much there for this to just peter out. Oh, what beautiful roses!'  
  
She tugged on his arm, turning him away from the courting couple and bending down to smell the sweet fragrance. Amused by her behaviour, the governor waited, knowing his sister-in-law's machinations of old. As he expected, she glanced up from the flowers to where the young ones stood, and smirked triumphantly. He turned to look back at them, and found them held in a tender kiss. He sighed, turning back to Rosemary with a defeated smile.  
  
'Am I, or am I not, a genius?' she asked victoriously, holding out a hand for him to shake.  
  
Swann laughed as he shook the proffered hand.  
  
'I bow to the master, as ever, Rosemary,' he told her.  
  
They went back to their examination of the flowers, unashamedly giving time and privacy to the commodore and his new love as they kissed beneath the stars.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Oh, you're all going to hate me. *ahem* I'm afraid to say that these two chapters are the last in 'A Silver Doubloon'. But you know what to do if you want a sequel, don't you? Convince me, go on, you know you want to! 


	37. On The Trail Of Adventure

A light mist hung over Port Royale, obscuring the sun as it rose slowly to bless a bright new day. In the harbour, two ships rolled gently with the little swells, each crew as eager as the other to be off. Capstan shanties echoed across to the sleeping town, casting their tuneful melodies along streets silent with reluctant awakening.  
  
On the dock a small group stood together, watching the ships as they made ready to sail. Two of their number had already rowed out to the waiting ladies, clambering aboard to oversee the readying of their Pearl for the voyage ahead. The others lingered a while longer, wishing for a way to ease this painful leave-taking.  
  
Rosemary gathered her niece into her arms, mindful of the baby, holding her close as she tried not to cry. So many people had told her of the danger involved in this voyage, and she was afraid she would not see her family again.  
  
'Aunt Rosemary, I'll be fine,' Elizabeth told her gently, pulling back from the tearful embrace. 'We'll be back in less than a year.'  
  
'Don't make promises you may not be able to keep, my dear,' Rosemary said unsteadily, stepping aside for Elizabeth to bid farewell to her father. Will hung back, not feeling it was his place to be a part of this goodbye.  
  
A little way down the dock, Laura fought to hold back her tears as she gazed up at James, trying to tell herself that the ache in her heart was a figment of her imagination, nothing more. He held her hands tightly, duelling within himself as he wondered what to say.  
  
'Miss Blythe,' he began, stopping as a single tear escaped his companion's control to roll down her cheek.  
  
Laura forced a smile for him.  
  
'I had thought we were past that,' she said brokenly, suddenly bombarded with memories of his arms about her, his lips on hers.  
  
James sighed, unable to put into words the feeling that leaving her behind was possibly the hardest task he had ever set himself.  
  
'Don't cry,' he whispered, gently wiping away the moisture from her face. 'Please, Laura. I will come back for you.'  
  
She swallowed past the lump in her throat, exerting will-power on the flood of tears rising within her.  
  
'What if you don't?' she asked him, sounding small and alone. 'The seas are rough around the Horn, even I know that.'  
  
He frowned, cursing himself for telling her mother of his first brush with Cape Horn. He should have realised Lady Rosemary would mention it to her daughter.  
  
'You are right,' he murmured. 'I will not swear to you that I will return, the sea may take me to her as we sail. But my heart will always lie . . . here.'  
  
His hand hovered over her heart, his fingers picking up the steady beat within. She smiled, resting her hand over his own heart.  
  
'And mine, here,' she breathed.  
  
James smiled gently, his fingertips brushing her cheek tenderly.  
  
'Will you wait for me?' he asked her.  
  
Laura nodded, trying to lean into the gentle touch, to seek refuge in the warmth of his hands.  
  
'I would wait, even were there no hope of your return,' she swore, sighing deeply as he drew her to him.  
  
Governor Swann held his daughter close, trying to quell the doom-laden foreboding that filled his mind. The last time he had said goodbye to her like this, she had returned on another captain's ship, the Lady Swan sunk with all hands, and with a tale to curdle his blood. But this time they had a purpose, and they were sailing with the Black Pearl. As much as he disapproved of Jack Sparrow, Swann knew there was no other man he would trust his family's lives with.  
  
'It'll be lonely here without you,' he said quietly, smiling sadly as she drew back.  
  
Elizabeth returned his smile, feeling the bittersweet farewell as keenly as he did. Behind her, Will stepped into the boat that had just returned for them, beckoning to James to join him.  
  
'Don't be silly, father,' she chided him gently. 'You'll have Aunt Rosemary and Laura, and we'll be back before you start to miss us.'  
  
She kissed his cheek gently, turning to embrace her cousin as the commodore stepped into the little boat, somehow unable to take his eyes off Laura as she squeezed her green eyes tight shut against the tears threatening to spill.  
  
'Take care, Liz,' she whispered, frightened beyond words that this could be the last time she saw the people who meant so much to her. She was grateful to Marin for avoiding the sadness of the farewell, bidding them all a flamboyant goodbye alongside her husband and rowing out to the ships before the emotion really kicked in.  
  
She drew back a little, her eyes flickering over her cousin's shoulder to rest on the commodore where he sat in the little boat, his eyes on her. Elizabeth smiled, knowing what she was about to say.  
  
'I'll do my best, Laura, I promise,' she swore. 'He'll come back to you, we'll make sure of it.'  
  
The sorrowful smile that lit on her cousin's face was almost heart- breaking. Elizabeth moved away, letting Will take Matthew from her as she stepped down into the boat. The sailors pulled on their oars, and the little boat drew away, rocking on the swells that swept the harbour in the dawn mist.  
  
Rosemary could feel her daughter's fears and sorrow, wrapping a comforting arm about the younger woman, at a loss for anything to say that might make everything better. She watched the row boat pull away from them, holding close to her heart each face that had left her side that morning, and resigning herself to a year of worrisome fears and heart-wrenching ignorance.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Jack stared out across the harbour, watching as the little long boat made its slow way out to them, the three passengers looking decidedly down- hearted. He had never been one for tearful farewells, and besides, he had been almost frantic with impatience to get on board his beloved Pearl once more. Marin had taken her leave of them as swiftly as he, but he knew it was because the goodbye pained her more than she would admit willingly.  
  
He glanced around at his crew, watching in barely concealed amusement as they hurried about, obviously as pleased as he himself to be back on board once more. He'd told them what he felt they needed to know, that he and Will Turner were going after Fitzpatrick's treasure, and that the commodore was coming along to collect his own share of the gold.  
  
Gibbs stood by the larboard guns on the main deck, Marin by his side as he introduced her to the new cabin boy, a young lad of around ten who had been caught pickpocketing at her wedding. Fortunately for him, it had been Dugan's pocket he'd tried to pick and so he had got away with a bruised forehead and a new job.  
  
'This here's young Harry,' he said gruffly, as the lad nodded respectfully to Marin. 'Harry, yer to do as yer told, understand? No stealing, or we'll keelhaul ye.'  
  
Marin winced at the terrified expression on the boy's face at the thought of that awful punishment. She smiled gently down at him.  
  
'Have you ever been to sea, Harry?' she asked.  
  
'No, miss,' he said, and she was struck by his unusual accent. 'Well, not that I remember, miss. I came here when I was a baby, miss.'  
  
She grinned.  
  
'Alright, Harry, relax,' she told him, watching as Gibbs ambled to the stern to pick on some poor soul who didn't seem very chipper that morning. 'My name's Marin, and you can call me by it. Just remember to call the captain by his title, and you'll get along fine with him, too.'  
  
Harry grinned back at her, relieved to find someone who wasn't gruff or threatening. She gestured to the sword that hung clumsily by his side.  
  
'Do you know how to use that?'  
  
He shook his head, looking a little ashamed. Marin lifted his chin, making him look her in the eyes.  
  
'Then you'll just have to remind me to teach you,' she said gently. 'If you want an easy job while we set out, you'll clamber up to the crow's nest and stay there until someone comes up to relieve you. The bow is the front, the stern the back, larboard is left and starboard right, understand? If you see a ship on the horizon, then you shout down to us which direction to look. Got that?'  
  
Frowning, he nodded jerkily. Marin smiled.  
  
'Get up there, then.'  
  
He grinned nervously and scrambled up into the rigging, making his slow way up the ropes to the crow's nest far above him. As he reached the fighting top, Marin decided she couldn't watch anymore. He seemed more than a little frightened, but was determined to reach his destination. She glanced over at Gibbs.  
  
'He'll do,' the old sailor nodded. 'Don't let me forget to send someone up there after him, though.'  
  
She laughed.  
  
'I'll try,' she promised, turning as James swung a leg over the side, stumbling aboard with a grimace.  
  
He smiled down at her, trying to mask the regret he was certain marked his face from the awkward farewell. They'd not yet left the harbour and already he wished he could return to Laura's side.  
  
Marin smiled gently up at him, her eyes strangely understanding.  
  
'She'll be there when we return,' she told him, and he was struck once again by how quickly his cousin had learnt to read his moods, even beneath the mask he wore so well.  
  
'You didn't see her face when I said goodbye,' he murmured, grateful when she reached out to squeeze his shoulder.  
  
'I don't need to,' Marin said softly. 'I can see yours. Go below and get changed, James. The sooner we set off, the sooner we'll return.'  
  
James sighed deeply, nodding to her as he slipped to the hatch. As he disappeared into the depths of the ship, Marin glanced up in time to see young Harry squeezing through the lubber's hole beside the mast, his feet vanishing up into the crow's nest. She looked over at Solomon, who grinned past the marlin spike he held in his teeth. Removing the piece, he threw it into a coil of rope and moved to join her where she stood surveying the deck.  
  
'The little lad should work out fine, if I say so meself,' he said warmly. 'And if his lordship mucks in, he'll be one of us before the week's out.'  
  
Marin laughed.  
  
'I'm sure he will,' she assured her friend. 'It'll grate on his nerves that I can sail better than he ever will.'  
  
The guffaw that erupted from Solomon on hearing that comment must have been heard by those waiting on the dock to see the ship set sail.  
  
'This I cannot wait to see,' he gasped, stifling the chuckles that continued to rise within him.  
  
Marin waited until he was composed once more before speaking again.  
  
'Harry has an accent I've not heard before,' she said pensively. 'Any ideas where he's from?'  
  
Solomon snorted.  
  
'Botany Bay,' he spat, his eyes dark with anger for a moment. 'Only the British could sentence a young man with a family to support to penal servitude. Young Harry was born out there, and when his pa died, his mam brought the children to the Caribbean. Youngest of seven is our Harry.'  
  
Marin frowned, suddenly sad for the young boy they had brought into their fold. Still, it explained why she didn't recognise his accent. She had never met anyone who had lived in Australia before. Solomon sighed.  
  
'Well, I guess I'd better get up there before the devil Gibbs starts laying about him with the cat,' he muttered, throwing her a quick grin as he vaulted himself up into the rigging. 'See you later.'  
  
Marin waved him off, moving to join Jack on the poop as he took the helm from Cotton. The mute grinned at her as she slipped to her husband's side. The parrot piped up raucously.  
  
'Show us yer ankles!'  
  
Without a change in expression, or even a glance towards the man, Jack wrapped an arm about Marin's shoulders and coughed pointedly.  
  
'If you've something to say about my wife, Mr Cotton, I'd appreciate it if you would put it into more refined talk,' he said formally, and Marin had to hide her smile as the older sailor shuffled his feet apologetically.  
  
'Dead men tell no tales,' the parrot croaked quietly and Jack nodded.  
  
'Exactly,' he agreed.  
  
As Cotton shuffled off the poop, Marin smiled up at the captain, pleased to see him looking so alive aboard his beloved ship. He really had been sickening for the sea, she realised, and swore to herself never to let that happen again. He grinned down at her.  
  
'You know, you should be up there with the crew, love,' he said speculatively.  
  
Marin raised an eyebrow.  
  
'Are you going to make me?' she challenged.  
  
Jack laughed.  
  
'On the day I have a death wish, then I'll try to make you do something,' he told her. 'Until then, I think I'd rather do things myself. Where's dear James?'  
  
'Below, getting changed,' she told him. 'And the new cabin boy ventured up into the rigging with very little encouragement, so I don't think we'll be having a problem there.'  
  
Jack nodded happily.  
  
'That's what I like to hear,' he said, glancing across to the Dragon. 'Well, it would appear everyone's ready for the off. Make sail there! Come on, move, you scabrous dogs!'  
  
As his voice filled the air around them, the orders floating out across the harbour, Marin realised that his crew had anticipated his readiness to sail. They were all in place, and as soon as the breeze carried his voice up to them, the sails dropped, billowing in the wind as they were secured in place. With the barest of lurches, the Black Pearl slipped forward, cutting through the waves as she sailed out into the Caribbean, on the trail of adventure.  
  
*~*~*  
  
It's over! *sob* But will there be a sequel? It's up to you, you know . . . 


End file.
